MODERN FAMILY
JEN HER GETS
Ben Affleck’s parenting inspiration? His ex Jen Garner’s new boyfriend!
Jen Garner was beaming. Dressed casually in a fitted black sweater, black leggings and bright blue sneakers, the actress looked relaxed and happy as she sat across from boyfriend John Miller on the patio of Porta Via restaurant in L.A.’s coastal Pacific Palisades neighborhood in mid-July. The cute couple smiled often as they chatted over coffee during their leisurely hourand-a-half lunch date.
This sweet, romantic scene is just what the doctor ordered for 47-year-old Garner — and for her ex-husband too. Surprisingly, Garner’s beau has had a positive impact on Ben Affleck, father of Garner’s three children: Violet, 13, Seraphina, 10, and Samuel, 7. It seems Miller, a California businessman who shares custody of his own kids, Quest and Violet, with his ex-wife, has been a big influence on Affleck, 47, when it comes to coparenting. “Jen having a boyfriend has been the best thing to happen to Ben and Jen in a long time,” says an insider.
“Ben’s become a better parent.”
The actor has stepped things up, big-time. “He’s really showing Jen that he can be a better person,” says a source about the Justice League star. “They’re coparenting in a way they never have before.” Affleck is way more involved in the kids’ lives and has even started taking over important family responsibilities like handling the kids’ school activities. “He ultimately just wants to be the best father he can be and part of that is continuing a loving relationship with Jen,” adds a source. All the while, he’s getting along great with Miller, 41, too, who Garner has been quietly dating since May 2018. “Ben has no problem with John,” says the insider. “John’s daughter has had playdates with Jen and Ben’s kids. Ben totally trusts him.”
PEACE AT LAST
If anyone deserves a happily ever after like this one, it’s Garner. The demise of her 10-year marriage to Affleck was brutal and public. In the three-plus years between announcing their split in June 2015 and finalizing their divorce in October 2018, Garner contended with a pesky list of rumors, including reports that the
Argo director was cheating on her with the couple’s nanny (which Garner denied, saying the woman “wasn’t part of the equation”), followed by the emotional roller-coaster of Affleck’s two stints in rehab for issues with alcohol abuse. Through it all, she remained as graceful as ever, refusing to bash her kids’ dad. “No one needs to hate [Ben] for me,” she told
Vanity Fair in February 2016. “I don’t hate him. Certainly, we don’t have to beat the guy up.” Fortunately, all the heartache and struggle led to greener pastures.
Now she’s found a man who can give her the support she needs. “John is the complete opposite of Ben,” an insider says about the Cali Group CEO. “Jen feels like she’s finally found a true partner.” The source says Miller likes being involved in all aspects of Garner’s life and offers helpful advice whenever he can. “When Jen was married to Ben she felt lonely,” says the insider. She was often left to her own devices and forced to make decisions by herself, “like when she wanted to buy a car, she did everything without any help from Ben,” explains the source. “But John wants to be there, even for the little things.”
EASY CONNECTION
The relationship between Garner and Miller is decidedly low-key. “They know what works,” says an insider. The star and the Stanford Law alum see each other a few times week, meeting for breakfast or lunch when they can. They’ve been spotted on a few early-morning dates, including one in Santa Monica and another in Brentwood, Calif., where a photographer caught
“JEN LOVES THAT JOHN ISN’T IN THE ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY AND IS JUST A SIMPLE GUY.” A SOURCE TO US
them smiling from ear to ear on their way to local eatery Farmshop. “When they don’t have their kids, they’ll go on a weekend getaway or spend the night together,” says the source. And Garner, an amateur chef (she has a “Pretend Cooking Show” on Instagram), loves making meals for Miller.
Plus, the pair share an important common thread: Like Garner, Miller is navigating the coparenting world — he and his violinist ex-wife, Caroline Campbell, split in 2011 after six years of marriage. “John and Jen are in similar places in their lives,” says the insider, “and can relate to raising kids after a divorce.” Their children come first. “They’re on the same page,” says the source, “and understand where things stand.”
THE TRIBE APPROVES
Which means agreeing to keep their romance relatively under the radar. “Jen likes keeping things with John private,” says an insider. While she has no plans of parading him around at public events, she has introduced him to some of her friends. On May 16, her Alias costar and close comrade Victor Garber told Us exclusively that he met Miller and approved of Garner’s fella. “I think he’s adorable,” Garber said, “and they’re doing great. What’s wonderful is they’re taking their time and just enjoying each other’s company.”
And although Affleck approves of the new man in his kids’ life, he’s not getting involved where Jen is concerned. “Ben doesn’t ask questions,” says the insider. “What John and Jen do on their own time is up to them.” Jen isn’t overly interested in Affleck’s love life, either. “She doesn’t want to know what he’s doing,” explains the source. “Unless something is going to impact their kids somehow, they feel it’s none of the other person’s business.”
ALL SMILES
While one insider says wedding bells may be in her future — “no one would be surprised if she and John got engaged” — another insists that Garner is perfectly content as is.
“Jen has someone great in her life. She’s taking her time and enjoying things exactly as they are right now,” says the insider. With a good guy at her side and her supportive ex on his best behavior, Garner has officially come out on top. Says a source, “She’s happy at last.”