Now Jen’s dating again
The actress is ready to find her Mr Right
She’s kept romance well on the backburner over the past few years, instead focusing on her children, career, and supporting her ex through his addictions. But last week, Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck finally signed the dotted line on their divorce, three years after they first separated, and – according to sources – it’s heralded a new era for the actress. Single gents, take note: she’s ready for you now.
“So many of Jen’s friends have tried to set her up in the past, but she just hasn’t been ready,” a source close to the 46 year old tells heat. “She wanted to focus on the kids and making the divorce happen in the right way. But now she can finally move on – she can focus on her love life, and not just on Ben. She’s got big plans.”
Jen and Ben separated in 2015, but the actress didn’t file for divorce until April 2017 – reportedly delaying the process while Ben struggled with his addiction to alcohol. The pair, who have three children together – Violet, 12, Seraphina, nine, and Samuel, six – have been regularly spotted together since. Earlier this month, after an intervention by Jen, Ben revealed he’d completed a 40-day stay at The Canyons rehab centre in Malibu, telling fans, “I am fighting for myself and my family.” According to our insider, this development has enabled Jen to eventually find closure.
Days after Ben left treatment, in an effort to speed up the divorce process, the former couple met with a private judge at her California mansion, where they signed the final paperwork. And while Ben was pictured days later enjoying a mini-break fishing in Montana with his new Playboy model girlfriend Shauna Sexton, 22, (above) we’re told Jen – who has custody of their children – isn’t prepared to sit around moping.
“Emotionally, she feels she did right by her kids, so she now feels comfortable having a nanny watch them while she goes on dates,” we’re told. “Jen thinks long-term, it’s never about a short-term fix. She wanted to finalise the divorce in the right way, heal, and figure out what she wants. She needs and deserves to have time for herself.”