Jennifer Garner wasn’t too happy being stuck in the middle of Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck’s issues during the months before their divorce!
As Perezcious readers know, the 52-year-old actress was a huge supporter of the former couple and rooted for them to work things out. She even reportedly stepped up to lend an ear to J.Lo when she wanted to fix things and encouraged “Ben to work on his marriage to Jen.” Even though it bothered her boyfriend, John Miller, how much she “hyper-focused on her ex-husband” and his drama, she continued to show up for them. Garner essentially became a “marriage counselor”!
Related: Why Jennifer Lopez’s Divorce Filing Is Actually Unusual For A Celebrity!
However, she eventually took a step back and let them figure it out on their own once it got “too painful” and brought back too many memories of her divorce from Ben. Ultimately, the Alias alum didn’t get her wish. Ben and Jennifer did not get back together after they separated in April. The Dance Again artist filed for divorce this week instead.
Now, in light of the breakup, Garner feels like she was just a “pawn” while trying to get them to work out their issues in a way that would not affect Ben’s sobriety. A source told Dailymail.com on Wednesday:
“Jen feels slightly used as a pawn in JLo’s bid to repair her marriage. She doesn’t believe it was intentional. 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.”
Given the two are raising three kids together, it’s no wonder she didn’t want anything like the stress of his separation to impact his sobriety! The insider added that her close pals didn’t like the way Jennifer leaned on Garner so much, despite knowing their complicated history:
“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. Especially when said wife was a big love who Jen was compared to throughout their 13-year marriage.”
That being said, the 13 Going On 30 star “is happy that Ben is now happy.” The good thing is that Garner will have some peace and won’t have to deal with Bennifer’s problems anymore now! Well, hopefully not! The two still have to go through the divorce process, and they did not have a prenup or the money details figured out beforehand! We all know how divorces without prenups can get messy! Let’s hope for the best that Ben and Jen can keep things amicable moving forward — if not for the sake of Garner, who is most likely sick of hearing about the drama at this point, than for their kiddos!
Thoughts, Perezcious readers? Sound OFF in the comments below!
[Image via LiveKellyandMark/YouTube, MEGA/WENN]