Ben Affleck and ex-wife Jennifer Garner share three kids, and the actor-filmmaker has opened up about the challenges of public life and its impact on their children. He reveals that, while parenting, they follow a strict code: not to push their kids to follow in their footsteps, but rather to give them room to figure it out for themselves. While Affleck showered praise on his kids, he also highlighted the differences between his and their upbringings.
Ben Affleck reveals parenting rules for his kids
In conversation with E! News, Ben Affleck spoke about his three kids, Violet, Seraphina, and Samuel, whom he shares with Jennifer Garner. The Deep Water actor said, “You put something on your children when you have a public life, and that’s complicated.”
The Argo actor mentioned that, as parents, they don’t want to put pressure on their kids to follow in their footsteps, but rather give them space to figure out their own paths. He added, “I wouldn’t push them into that. They’re brilliant and lovely and wonderful, and we love them, and we’re proud of them.”
Affleck also further joked that he hopes that his kids don’t waste their time acting. Reflecting on how his children were brought up way differently than he was, he explained, “In some way, it was kind of a blessing to anonymity, to struggle, to where we started, which was just in the middle of nowhere.”
During his appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live! last year, the 53-year-old revealed that his children are the biggest critics of his professional work, giving their reviews without censor. He said, “My kids, they’re like very tough, and they don’t censor their criticism. They’ll sit right next to me watching a movie and just, while it’s happening, ‘This is terrible. I mean, this is terrible! Why did you do this?’ Like, you can wait till it ended, you know what I mean, before.” However, he revealed that they genuinely liked his 2025 movie, The Accountant 2.
