From Bradley Cooper to Ben Affleck, here's a look back at the actress' on and off-screen romances.
Jennifer Garner's fans can't help but love her for making all those romcoms, playing an international spy, being a great mom, and having some really funny Instagram posts. Through the years she's also had her fair share of co-star romances and an abundance of chemistry with her leading men both on and off screen.
From her A-list marriage to Ben Affleck to her longtime friendship with Alias co-star Bradley Cooper, Garner's no stranger to romance rumors. Here's a look back at her best chemistry moments with some of her most beloved co-stars.
Scott Foley
What They Worked on Together: Felicity (1998)
What They've Said About Each Other:
Garner and Foley met on the set of Felicity when Foley played Noel Crane from 1998 to 2002. Garner had a two-episode arc in 1998 and later tied the knot with Foley in 2000. They separated in March 2003 and finalized their divorce in March 2004. Though they kept their relationship private at the time, the two actors have opened up about their split after the fact.
“Jennifer became a huge celebrity,” Foley told TV Guide in 2003. “She became a huge star, and she deserved everything she got. There was no other relationship, there was no infidelity, nothing. People get divorced, you know? Through no one’s fault and everyone’s fault.”
Garner had similar kind things to say about her ex in 2013, saying, “Oh, he’s a great guy. We were full-on grown-ups, but looking back I’m aware we did not know what hit us.”
Michael Vartan
What They've Worked on Together: Alias (2001-2006)
What They've Said About Each Other:
The Alias love interests had major chemistry both on screen and off. Garner and Vartan played on-screen couple Sydney Bristow and Michael Vaughn, and their characters' romance eventually bled into real life. They started dating shortly after her split from Foley in August 2003. The two split the next year, but have remained close friends.
In 2005, Vartan told USA Today, “Jennifer and I were best friends first, during [the romance] and after.”
Garner seems to still be on good terms with her co-star ex. In 2018, she posted a throwback shot to Instagram in honor of his 50th birthday.
“Can you believe this baby face is 50?!” she wrote at the time.
Ben Affleck
What They've Worked on Together: Pearl Harbor (2001), Daredevil (2003)
What They've Said About Each Other:
Ah, the romance of Ben and Jen. Though they met on the set of Pearl Harbor, the pair didn't fall for one another until 2003's Daredevil. They tied the knot in 2005 and share three children Violet, 14, Seraphina, 11, and Samuel, 8. The pair announced their split in June 2015 but didn't officially divorce until November 2018. Though their marriage is over, the pair consider each other family and have been widely complimentary of one another as they co-parent their children amid the ups and downs of Affleck's struggle with sobriety.
"I didn't marry the big fat movie star; I married him," Garner said of her ex in a 2016 interview with Vanity Fair. "And I would go back and remake that decision. He's the love of my life."
Affleck told Ellen DeGeneres in 2017 that Garner is "the world's greatest mom."
Similarly she's praised him as a parent, writing in a Father's Day post in 2018, "Our kids are lucky to have a dad who looks at them the way you look at them and loves them the way you love them, @benaffleck."
Affleck struggled with the decision to divorce Garner, and in February 2020 he got choked up during an interview with Diane Sawyer for Good Morning America, saying, "I never thought that I was gonna get divorced. I didn't want to get divorced. I didn't want to be a divorced person. I really didn't want to be a split family with my children. And it upset me because it meant I wasn't who I thought I was. And that was so painful and so disappointing in myself."
Bradley Cooper
What They've Worked on Together: Alias (2001), Valentine's Day (2010)
What They've Said About Each Other: After starring together for two seasons on the hit ABC spy thriller, the pair have remained friends, and Garner was tapped to introduce, and lovingly roast, Cooper at the American Cinematheque Awards in November 2018. Garner recalled how she was one of the first people to ever meet Cooper when he came to Hollywood and quipped about how she viewed him the same way she would a stray dog.
"I took him home and made him dinner… I’m still making him dinner," she joked.
"Bradley, what’s happening to you now is a pure joy to those who know you, especially to those of us who’ve known you from the start,” Garner added in her heartfelt speech to her longtime friend. "It turns out you weren’t just handsome all along. You were also a wonder, and you are welcome at my table anytime."
Then in August 2020, the pals were photographed at the beach together in Malibu, California, with Cooper's 3-year-old daughter, Lea De Seine.
"Jen and Bradley have been friends for years, ever since they worked together on Alias," a source told ET at the time. "Jen raves about what a wonderful friend Bradley has always been to her."
Romance Rumors?: Though they had not been romantically linked before, fans couldn't help but get excited about the photos of the two single stars. Garner recently split from her businessman boyfriend, John Miller, and Cooper and Lea's mother, Irina Shayk, broke up in June 2019.
In addition to being close with Garner, Cooper is also friends with Affleck, who specifically helped the actor with his sobriety.
Mark Ruffalo
What They've Worked on Together: 13 Going on 30 (2004)
What They've Said About Each Other:
The pair had off-the-charts chemistry in the iconic romcom, portraying childhood friends Jenna Rink and Matt Flamhaff. And their affection for one another was apparent in interviews.
"Mark is an out-of-control, unbelievably amazing actor," Garner said of Ruffalo in a behind-the-scenes documentary for the film. "Five years ago if you had said, 'List three or four actors that you want to work with,' he would have been at the top of my list."
Upon reflecting on his time filming the movie during a 2019 interview with ET, Ruffalo said, "We had the sweetest time. [Jennifer] was a big star then but I was kind of just starting out. She was just so lovely."
Romance Rumors?: While these two were never an item, Ruffalo, who has been married to Sunrise Coigney since 2000, has joked that his friendship with Garner was sidelined due to Affleck. During a 2014 interview on Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen, Ruffalo said he hasn't spoken to Garner in a long time.
"We had a great time together, and I think we would [keep in touch], but then Ben [Affleck] came on the scene and that was the end of that," Ruffalo said smiling.
Matthew McConaughey
What They've Worked on Together: Ghosts of Girlfriends Past (2009), Dallas Buyers Club (2013)
What They've Said About Each Other:
The two mega stars are longtime pals and have fantastic chemistry both on and off screen.
"Matthew is who you think he is. You don't meet him and think, 'Oh, you put this on but really you're somebody else,' and it makes you immediately comfortable. It makes women immediately comfortable," Garner said during a junket interview for Ghosts of Girlfriends Past. "That's why we all are drawn to him."
She also called him "the ultimate leading man" in a 2013 interview with Allure.
Of course, McConaughey has nothing but kind things to say about Garner in return.
"[She's] a pioneer woman! If she would have been in those times, she would have made it all the way West," McConaughey said on CBS' The Early Show in 2009.
Romance Rumors?: No. McConaughey was dating his future wife, Camila Alves, when he first met Garner and she was married to Affleck.
Josh Duhamel
What They've Worked on Together: Love, Simon (2018)
What They've Said About Each Other:
The pair played role model parents Emily and Jack in the touching teen LGBTQ romance film. Duhamel and Garner instantly clicked in the film and Duhamel revealed he sought out his co-star's advice when making the movie.
"I went to Jen a couple times asking advice on certain things," he told E! News in 2018. "She's an incredible woman, she really is. She's very, very smart. She's a lot funnier than I think people realize."
Romance Rumors?: Yes. With both stars single at the time of filming, the romance rumors were bound to fly, but they both took them in stride.
"I laugh at it," Duhamel told ET in a joint interview with Garner. "Jen is an amazing catch. I'd be lucky if, but you know she deserves far better than me. I would be dating up [if that was the case]."
Timothy Olyphant
What They've Worked on Together: Catch and Release (2006)
What They've Said About Each Other:
The pals played passionate love interests in the emotional film. Olyphant was very complimentary of Garner when talking about the star at the time of the film's release.
"I’ve known her for a long time. I knew her years ago in New York when she and I were both just first starting and it was very refreshing to see that, more or less, she was the same girl I knew then," he told Collider at the time. "She’s just a lovely person. She’s a real pro. She knows everybody’s name. She’s on time. She’s one of those people that, despite being a major star, she’s one of the guys. And I really appreciate that a great deal because, for me, this was an opportunity to play a role I’d not played with a big star and she made me feel very relaxed and at home."
Romance Rumors?: No, at the time they worked together Garner was married to Affleck.
For more on Garner and Affleck's relationship, check out the video below.
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