Jennifer Garner is gearing up to head down the aisle and tie the knot with her long-term partner John Miller, who will become her third husband. Despite being loved-up with the former burger restaurant CEO since they met in 2018, the 53-year-old actress has stayed close to her ex-husband Ben Affleck, 52, who she split from in 2015 before finalising their divorce the same year she met John.
And the former couple – who share children Violet, 19, Fin, 16, and Samuel, 13 – have hit the headlines 10 years after their split as Ben temporarily moved into the home Jennifer shares with their children while he and his second wife Jennifer Lopez were finalising their divorce in August 2024. With them being such close friends and successfully co-parenting their three children, many expected Ben to be by Jennifer’s side as she marries John this summer – but Closer has been told the third Mr Garner has put his foot down and banned him from the wedding.
It was previously reported that – while he knew nothing was going on between the pair – John was unhappy after photos of Ben grabbing Jennifer by the waist at their son Samuel’s paintballing party in March and gave Jennifer an ultimatum that she was to spend less time with Ben, or he would walk away from their relationship. Since the ultimatum was delivered, John has moved into Jennifer’s Los Angeles mansion on a part time basis, while Ben has moved into a house nearby to be close to their children.
Our source says, ‘John’s pleased his previous ultimatum worked and Ben’s not stinking up their romance with his clinginess, but he’s taking his hardline tactic a step further by insisting Ben be banned from the wedding. John’s glad that Jen’s with him now and they’ve gone to the next level with him moving in, but he doesn’t want Ben anywhere celebrating. It would attract too much attention and be a nightmare, or so John thinks.
‘Jen’s tried to say Ben’s like a brother but so far John’s not budging. Jen and John have gone ahead and started planning and want the wedding sooner rather than later with family and friends but no Ben if John has his way – and he might just have it. There’s no doubt this won’t sit well with Ben, who’s been forced to sacrifice a lot for this guy already.’
Jennifer was said to have become somewhat of a ‘marriage counsellor’ to Ben and J.Lo, who tied the knot in 2022 almost two decades after initially postponing their wedding. Ben and J.Lo met on the set of the movie Gigli in 2002 and got together following her divorce from first husband, choreographer Cris Judd later that year. They got engaged in November 2002 and planned to marry in September 2003 but postponed their nuptials four days before they were due to take place, citing ‘excessive media attention’. However, in January 2004, they announced they had called off their engagement.
Ben then went on to date his Pearl Harbour and Daredevil co-star Jennifer in the summer of 2004, going public at a baseball game that October. He proposed to her in April 2005, and they wed that June, announcing they were expecting their first child at the same time.However, 10 years after they wed, they announced their split in a joint statement, saying, ‘After much thought and careful consideration, we have made the difficult decision to divorce. We go forward with love and friendship for one another and a commitment to co-parenting our children whose privacy we ask to be respected during this difficult time. This will be our only comment on this private, family matter. Thank you for understanding.’
Ben got back in touch with J.Lo in April 2021 and they soon entered another relationship with one another, finally marrying in July 2022. And once they finally decided to end their romance in April 2024, Jennifer stepped into a ‘mediator’ role, something which reportedly ‘did not sit well’ with John who ‘doesn’t like sharing her.’
The source adds, ‘John feels like he’s had the patience of a Saint and he’s reached his limit. Jen has been taking him a lot more seriously lately because he put down a very clear limit on things and was ready to walk away. He has to respect himself for her to fully respect him and he feels like their wedding, and whether Ben gets an invite or not, is another example of a situation where he has to draw a hard line in the sand.
‘If he doesn’t, he will be resentful and it’s likely Jen will lose respect for him, which will undermine the relationship in the long run. It’s no secret Jen would like Ben to be there, mostly for the sake of their kids because she wants them to see that he is okay with her marrying John. But she does understand that John has boundaries.
‘He’s never suggested they invite his ex-wife to the ceremony and the idea of having her ex-husband there really bothers him. It’s going to be a pretty small affair, they want to keep the ceremony intimate, and the last thing John wants is to be looking up from the altar and seeing Ben’s face in the front row. It just doesn’t sit right with him.
‘As tolerant as he’s been, there are boundaries. He and Jen have started a new chapter together, they’re pretty much living together now, he still has his place, but he’s moved a ton of his stuff into hers and is almost always there. He’s definitely staked his claim and is really eager to marry Jen. Now that he’s living with her, even if it’s unofficial, Jen is very motivated to tie the knot because she’s pretty traditional. And she doesn’t want to send the wrong message to her kids so it’s likely the wedding will happen this summer. And it’s very likely Ben will not be there, certainly not if she wants to keep things drama-free with John.’