Jennifer Garner Allegedly Played "Mediator" in Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez's Split
"A man's ex-wife should never have to play mediator in a divorce from his new wife."
![Jennifer Garner and Jennifer Lopez with Ben Affleck](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/WCcprrDdxZEAbkRTnqRjDQ-415-80.jpg)
When they reunited in 2021, fans were delighted to see Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez's reignited romance. However, just two short years after they wed in Georgia, Lopez filed for divorce from Affleck on their anniversary.
During their relationship, Affleck and Lopez cultivated a blended family, which included five children—Affleck's three kids, Violet, Fin, and Samuel, and Lopez's twins, Emme and Maximilian Muñiz. Even Affleck's ex-wife, Jennifer Garner, spent time with the newlyweds as a blended family. But following Lopez's divorce filing, a new source has claimed that Garner was somewhat of a "mediator" in Lopez and Affleck's marriage.
Speaking exclusively to DailyMail.com, a source revealed, "Jen [Garner] feels slightly used as a pawn in J.Lo's bid to repair her marriage." The source continued, "She doesn't believe it was intentional."
"Jen [Garner] feels slightly used as a pawn in J.Lo's bid to repair her marriage."
Revealing that Garner took on the unexpected role of "mediator" between her ex-husband and his new wife, the source alleged, "But when Jen realized her ex-husband's marriage was past the point of salvation, her only concern was Ben's well-being and sobriety."
Garner's friends were apparently pretty unhappy with the 13 Going on 30 star putting energy into her ex-husband's new life. "She was put in the middle and her friends think—no matter how you look at it—a man's ex-wife should never have to play mediator in a divorce from his new wife," the source claimed. "Especially when said wife was a big love who Jen was compared to throughout their 13-year marriage. She is happy that Ben is now happy."
Garner had "encouraged" Affleck and Lopez to work on their marriage.
Previous reports suggested Garner was an "unexpected ally" to the couple when divorce rumors started to spread. It was also noted that Garner had become friends with Lopez, while co-parenting with the superstar.
Prior to Lopez filing for divorce, it was alleged Garner had "encouraged" Affleck and Lopez to work on their marriage. And, perhaps surprisingly, Lopez was credited with helping Garner and Affleck reach a better place in their own divorce.
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Now that divorce proceedings between Lopez and Affleck have officially begun, it's unclear how the blended family will navigate their relationships moving forward.
Amy Mackelden is a contributing editor at Marie Claire, where she covers celebrity and royal family news. She was the weekend editor at Harper’s BAZAAR for three years, where she covered breaking celebrity and entertainment news, royal stories, fashion, beauty, and politics. Prior to that, she spent a year as the joint weekend editor for Marie Claire, ELLE, and Harper's BAZAAR, and two years as an entertainment writer at Bustle. Her additional bylines include Cosmopolitan, People, The Independent, HelloGiggles, Biography, Shondaland, Best Products, New Statesman, Heat, and The Guardian. Her work has been syndicated by publications including Town & Country, Good Housekeeping, Esquire, Delish, Oprah Daily, Country Living, and Women's Health. Her celebrity interviews include Jennifer Aniston, Jessica Chastain, the cast of Selling Sunset, Emma Thompson, Jessica Alba, and Penn Badgley. In 2015, she delivered an academic paper at Kimposium, the world's first Kardashian conference.
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