Jennifer Garner Feels Torn Between Ex Ben Affleck and Boyfriend John Miller

It’s the end of an era. In January, Ben Affleck and second wife Jennifer Lopez reached a divorce settlement, with reports revealing they agreed to walk away from their legal union with what they’ve individually acquired during the two-year marriage On February 21 — six months after J. Lo filed for divorce — their split was finalized.

More change is likely coming for Ben, Life & Style has learned his first wife Jennifer Garner — an unwavering if unlikely source of support during the Oscar winner’s breakup from J. Lo, which allegedly saw her playing “mediator” to the pair – is reconsidering her own relationship with him nearly a decade after they announced their separation. It’s been almost seven years since Jen started dating business investor John Miller and she’s been increasingly torn about what comes next, a source exclusively tells Life & Style, explaining, “Jen’s feeling the pressure to choose between John and Ben.”

A February 14 report from Daily Mail claimed John’s been hoping Jen will take a “step back” from Ben now that the actor or director’s second divorce is over. John gets it — he, too, is co-parenting with a former spouse — but even though Jen and Ben, both 52, need to communicate as they raise their kids, Violet Affleck, 19, Seraphina “Fin” Affleck, 16, and Samuel Affleck, 13, “John wants Jen for himself,” an insider told the outlet, adding, “John is trying to deal with Ben and Jen’s relationship by mostly staying quiet, but it’s very hard to do that.”

The Cali Group CEO and the Accountant 2 star are friendly – they’ve even been photographed happily chatting outside Jen’s home. “John likes Ben,” confirms Life & Style’s source. “He just doesn’t feel Jen should spend as much time with Ben, especially now that his life’s back on track.”

It’s affected John’s relationship with the Deadpool & Wolverine actress, adds the source: “It’s bad enough she answers Ben’s calls when they’re spending time together. Now, John’s avoiding Jen’s home if Ben’s going to be there. It’s the only thing they argue about.”

And Jen and Ben spend a lot of time together. In January, the leading man — who’s called their divorce the “biggest regret ” of his life – evacuated to her house during the LA wildfires. They spent Thanksgiving feeding the homeless before sharing a holiday meal at her place. Over the summer, the exes vacationed in Japan during the kids’ school break, celebrated Ben’s birthday in August 2024 and that June, Jen was seen letting herself into the home he was renting in the wake of his April separation from J. Lo.

“Though Ben may have behaved badly when they were married,” says Life & Style’s source, “they’re like best friends now.”

But John is Jen’s boyfriend. While they quietly broke up in 2020 before reuniting in 2021 — reportedly because he was ready for marriage and she wasn’t — her position has evolved. “She wants to marry him,” says the source, “but she’s in her feelings about spending less time with Ben. It feels like an impossible decision, yet she knows she can’t move forward with John when her ex-husband is constantly in the picture. It’s just not an easy one because Ben was the love of her life.”

She’s said as much before. “I didn’t marry the big fat movie star; I married him. And I would go back and remake that decision,” she famously told Vanity Fair months after they split following a decade of marriage. “You can’t have these three babies and so much of what we had. He’s the love of my life. What am I going to do about that?”

What she did was stand by him through his many ups and downs. Jen even drove Ben, who struggled with alcohol addiction for decades, to rehab in 2018, weeks before their divorce was finalized — and just months into her then-nascent romance with John. “John understands it ’s best for everyone when Ben’s healthy and happy,” says the source, “but he’s a great guy who deserves Jen’s full heart.”

Friends are rooting for them. “Jen’s girlfriends have told her she should create better boundaries with Ben, that he’ll understand,” says the source, explaining that they believe she deserves happiness too.

“It’s the best way forward. Jen needs to move on.”