Jennifer Garner shares how insecure she felt financially after divorce from Ben Affleck

Jennifer Garner has revealed that she faced financial insecurity following her divorce from Ben Affleck in 2015, as she took a step back from acting to focus on raising their three children.

She admitted that she was not working as much in the entertainment industry at the time because she was busy raising her children.

“I panicked when I was first out of my marriage and realised I had taken such a step back in my work,” Jennifer shared on Emma Grede’s podcast, Aspire.

“Suddenly I realised, like, I don’t know how long I’ll be able to work. This isn’t a career that’s like, hey, you’re 60, you’re 55, you’re 43  come on let’s pay you more than you’ve ever made. That’s not been traditionally the role,” she said.

Jennifer and Ben were married from 2005 to 2015 and have three children, Violet, Finn and Samuel. The couple finalised their divorce in 2018.

“I was suddenly like, wait a minute, I have to take care of myself. I have to take care of these kids. So, what is it going to be?” the actress said.

The Elektra star explained that she and her manager became “very calculated” about every project because she wanted to continue working while remaining close to her family.

“She was like, how can you work? And I said, I can work in Los Angeles. I can’t leave these kids for six months at a time. I would love to — I love going on location  but that is not this time in my career,” Jennifer shared.

She said she and her manager then focused on finding projects that would allow her to balance her career and family responsibilities.

In 2017, Garner also co-founded Once Upon a Farm, an organic children’s food company.

“Once Upon a Farm was very much a part of that play. It’s just the crazy thing is it’s working,” she said.

According to Forbes, the company has grown significantly, while Garner’s stake in the business has been valued at around $50 million. Jennifer also spoke about the realities of managing finances while being a well-known public figure.

“It’s not like you can just unfamous yourself. Life is expensive and you still have to kind of figure out how you’re going to live. And just because you’re well-known by people does not mean that there is some great living being provided for you,” she said.

Garner said the experience quickly changed her approach to money and made her realise that she needed to take greater responsibility for her financial future.

“And it became very serious to me really quickly as someone who had never given a lot of thought to money. Like, oh, I need to be an earner here,” she added.