Jennifer Garner has never shied away from sharing honest, heart-warming and often hilarious stories of what it’s like being mom to three kids: Violet, 13, Samuel, Seraphina, 10, and Samuel, 7. As a successful actor with more than 20 years of experience, Garner has also faced the challenge of finding the elusive work/life balance as a working mom.
In a recent interview with InStyle for the magazine’s 25th anniversary, Garner opened up about transitioning into the role of “mom.”
“I feel a lot less stressed about the industry and my place in it now than I used to. When you’re one of the ‘hot girls’ of the moment, you’re making choices that define you,” she said in the interview. “I was defined first by choosing to go on hiatus, and then I was very quickly defined by pregnancies and babies.”
“Now my choices are defined by different things,” Garner continued. “I don’t have the offers coming at me that I had during that first cover, but I know that what does come my way is because someone really wants to see me take a shot at a role.”
Garner also talked about the challenges of being a kid today. “It’s so gnarly to be a kid now,” she shared. “I guard my kids’ privacy as much as I possibly can, and I’ve never posted pictures of them on Instagram. I used to refuse to say their names during interviews — but everyone knows their names! I would just say ‘my eldest,’ which I still do out of habit a lot.”
She also talked a bit about what it was like to be the object of the paparazzi’s gaze for so many years during her marriage to Ben Affleck, whom she divorced last year after a decade of marriage.
“We were completely hounded 24/7 for 10 solid years, and it changes you. You no longer take things like being able to go to your mailbox for granted. I even stopped going to the farmers market because I was being photographed there constantly,” Garner said. “I realized, ‘I’m ruining the farmers market for everyone; this is selfish.’”
In addition to Garner’s interview, InStyle’s 25th anniversary edition is jam-packed with stories, including interviews with Julianne Moore, Jennifer Aniston, and Halle Barry.
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