Jennifer Garner Talks Ben Affleck Divorce and Addresses Nanny Scandal
Celebrity

The 'Alias' actress compares her split from Ben Affleck to Jennifer Aniston's separation from Brad Pitt and reveals her heart is 'a little on the tender side right now.'

AceShowbiz - Jennifer Garner break her silence on her split from husband Ben Affleck and his alleged affair with their nanny. She says in her Vanity Fair cover story, "It was a real marriage. It wasn't for the cameras. And it was a huge priority for me to stay in it. And that did not work."

The mother of three compares their separation to Jennifer Aniston's divorce from Brad Pitt. "When Jen Aniston and Brad Pitt broke up, I was dying to see something that said they were getting back together," she explains.

"I'm a pretty hard worker. It's one of the pains in my life that something I believe in so strongly I've completely failed at twice. You have to have two people to dance a marriage. My heart's a little on the tender side right now, and it's always easier to focus on the ways that you feel hurt, but I know that, with time and some perspective, I'll have a clearer sense of where I let the system down, because there's no way I get off in this."

Garner sets the record straight on the Nanny scandal, "Let me just tell you something. We had been separated for months before I ever heard about the nanny. She had nothing to do with our decision to divorce. She was not a part of the equation. Bad judgment? Yes. It's not great for your kids for [a nanny] to disappear from their lives. I have had to have conversations about the meaning of 'scandal.' "

Asked about Ricky Gervais' Oscar joke that "the only person Ben Affleck hasn't been unfaithful to" is Matt Damon, the actress "laughed." She says, "People have pain - they do regrettable things, they feel shame, and shame equals pain. No one needs to hate him for me. I don't hate him. Certainly we don't have to beat the guy up. Don't worry - my eyes were wide open during the marriage. I'm taking good care of myself."

What about Affleck's phoenix tattoo on his back? "You know what we would say in my hometown about that? 'Bless his heart.' A phoenix rising from the ashes. Am I the ashes in this scenario?" she says, winking. "I take umbrage. I refuse to be the ashes."

Garner also talks about life post Affleck. "When the earth shakes, you go to what you know from childhood. All of a sudden I'm sitting down at the piano. I went back to church. I sat down and wrote bad poetry all day because I was so sad. I needed a dance class; it reminded me of my fight scenes [in 'Alias'] and how I missed that. I feel the need to be physical and I feel the need to punch someone."

"You know what I look forward to? I look forward to getting past the pity stage. I look forward to just having a sense of humor," she continues. "I definitely put a lot of time towards my marriage that I will now have for myself. I don't know how I will use that."

On getting back to dating game, she says, "I guess. I don't know. It's just that [from] everyone that I know that is dating it just seems, well ... Men don't call anymore ... I want flowers; I don't want to text. What does that make me? What kind of dinosaur am I?"

Despite her reluctance, the 43-year-old star is never short of suitors. She recalls being hit on a plane, "We were waiting for the bathroom at JetBlue, and I was so floored. I had to remind myself that that was something that could happen. He said, 'Could I take you for a cup of coffee?' And I was like, 'No! You may not take me for a cup of coffee, sir.' And then I said, 'But thanks for asking.' "

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