Jennifer Garner took on the Thanksgiving spirit solo this year, serving meals to those in need, marking a shift from the previous year’s heartwarming reunion with Ben Affleck at the same charitable event.
Both Garner and Affleck, each 53, have become known for their strong co-parenting relationship after their split ten years ago, focusing on raising their children Violet, 19, Fin, 16, and Samuel, 13.
Last year, following Jennifer Lopez’s divorce filing from Affleck on their second anniversary, Garner reportedly offered emotional support to him during a challenging time.
During that Thanksgiving, the former couple shared a friendly moment while assisting at The Midnight Mission’s annual meal service on Skid Row in Los Angeles.
This year, Garner returned to the downtown charity event to spread holiday joy, opting to volunteer without Affleck by her side.
Exuding holiday spirit, Garner was spotted cheerfully serving dishes, including what appeared to be scallion mashed potatoes, to those in need.
Jennifer Garner was solo when she served food to the homeless this Thanksgiving – after her warm reunion with Ben Affleck for the same charity event last year
Although Garner went back downtown this year to ladle out a few dollops of seasonal cheer to the indigent, she left Affleck behind this time
Midnight Mission plans to serve over 2,500 Thanksgiving meals over the course of this year’s street festival on Skid Row, according to the nonprofit’s website.
Garner is one of hundreds of volunteers who signed up for the event, which is sponsored by companies including Bank of America and Albertsons.
Last year, she and Affleck brought their children along to the Midnight Mission event, where the exes were seen whispering to each other and wearing matching aprons.
A source exclusively told the Daily Mail that Affleck was spending Thanksgiving with his children, Garner and her longtime businessman boyfriend John Miller.
‘Ben and Jen are looking forward to today and Ben is anticipating a relaxing day full of food and football before he has to get back to work on the film,’ said the insider.
‘Thanksgiving is all about being drama free when it comes to Ben, it is going to be low key, only good vibes and Jen is on board to make today as easy as possible.’
Shortly thereafter, another insider alleged that Affleck was relying on Garner as a source of support in the wreckage of his marriage to Lopez.
‘Ben leans on her for everything, he’s got his own place but he’s still at her house all the time for family dinners and she never fails to send him home with a care package of food,’ the source claimed to In Touch Weekly.
Last Thanksgiving, Affleck and Garner put on a cozy display while volunteering at The Midnight Mission’s annual charity lunch on Los Angeles’ Skid Row
Affleck and Garner tied the knot in 2005 and separated in 2015 but have retained a famously amicable co-parenting relationship since their split; pictured at the 2007 Golden Globes
The insider added: ‘He loves being looked after by her. He goes to her whenever he has a big career or life decision to make for her advice.’
Another source said that Affleck and Garner spent the day of Thanksgiving volunteering with their children, and then Miller spent the night at her house.
‘Jen truly just wants her kids to be happy. She will continue to make sure that they spend time together as a family and include Ben,’ that insider informed People.
Lopez filed for divorce from Affleck in August 2024 on their second wedding anniversary, after months of reports the marriage was skidding towards implosion.
An insider has said Affleck regarded himself as ‘blessed’ to spend Thanksgiving with Jennifer Garner, with whom he feels he ‘can just be himself,’ via Page Six.
‘Even though Ben and Jen have been split for a while now, he feels a certain level of comfort with her,’ the source explained.
‘Ben has a strong relationship with Jen that will never dissipate because they have a lot of history together and she’s the mother of his kids.’
Affleck and Garner separated in 2015 amid an explosion of reports that he had an affair with the family’s nanny Christine Ouzounian.
Lopez filed for divorce from Affleck in August 2024 on their second wedding anniversary, after months of reports the marriage was skidding towards implosion; pictured 2021
However Garner later clarified: ‘Let me just tell you something. We had been separated for months before I ever heard about the nanny,’ per Vanity Fair.
They retained a famously tight close-parenting bond and were frequently spotted together taking their children to church in Los Angeles.
When Affleck relapsed into alcoholism in 2018, Garner reportedly staged an intervention, armed with a sober coach and a Bible.
She was then seen driving him to rehab, handing him a takeout bag of Jack-In-The-Box as he sat appearing bleary and red-faced in the backseat.
Prior to Affleck, Garner was married from 2000 until 2004 to actor Scott Foley, a TV star from such shows as Felicity, Scrubs and Scandal.
