Ben Affleck, Jennifer Garner Divorce Reportedly Off Despite Alleged Nanny Affair

For months, Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner have been baffling their followers with their mixed messages about their relationship status. The two split amid rumors swirling about Ben’s alleged affair with the family nanny, and a recent report claimed that Jennifer was getting ready to make the divorce final. But now the newest tale about the two says that Garner and Affleck are calling off the divorce in an effort to make the marriage work.

Jennifer and Ben recently struggled through a “rough patch” that almost resulted in a permanent split, according to People, which cited sources describing the 44-year-old actors as “back from the brink of divorce.”

It was in June of 2015 that Affleck and Garner first revealed their separation. The news that they called off the divorce doesn’t mean that they’re back together, but that they have made the decision to continue to work on mending their tattered marriage, according to the insiders.

A source close to Jennifer credited the actress for taking the initiative in calling off the divorce, motivated by her desire to make the relationship work.

“Jen has called off the divorce.”

That insider revealed that Garner “really wants to work things out with Ben,” leading to the decision to give marriage “another try.” However, a source close to the duo described the decision as a united one.

“There is always a chance of reconciliation. They love each other,” noted the second insider.

And the children play a role in Affleck and Jen’s decision as well, according to that second source.

“They also really, really love their kids, and those kids love their parents.”

As evidence of that family love, the insider revealed that Ben and Jennifer held a small party at their house in Los Angeles the day after Affleck and his pal Matt Damon reunited on the Oscars stage. The party was in honor of their son, Samuel, turning 5, and the couple’s daughters Violet, 11, and Seraphina, 8, helped to celebrate.

“The girls had wrapped presents for Sam, including superhero toys. They had a cake. Everyone seemed happy,” commented the source.

The decision to try to make the relationship work, however, comes after Garner and her estranged husband reportedly experienced a “strained period that nearly led them to throw in the towel on their marriage,” according to the publication, which quoted an insider close to Jennifer.

“Jen was telling friends that she plans on filing for divorce…She was exhausted from all the ups and downs.”

But after that stressful time when Garner reportedly “just wanted to move on and focus on the happy things in her life,” they have now decided to try again, according to the publication’s sources. Throughout the separation, Ben and Jen have focused on co-parenting their children, even taking family vacations, and the decision to try again reportedly will help them with their goal of keeping the family unified.

“They want to keep the family together,” noted one of the sources.

Affleck previously talked with the magazine in January, expressing the happiness he feels when he’s in dad mode.

“I like taking my kids to school in the morning and dropping them off and having them know their dad is there,” said Ben. “That feels good.”

However, the couple is not yet back together, according to the source close to Garner, who added that “there seems to be hope” that they can pick up the pieces.

“Jen is hoping they can stay married. Ben doesn’t want a divorce either.”

While the latest report offers hope for Garner and Affleck, at the time that they announced their split, rumors swirled about the cause. And among those rumors was the allegation that “a big reason for the split was infidelity,” noted ET soon after the two revealed their split in 2015.

Both Ben and Jennifer denied that infidelity was the reason, but their former nanny, Christine Ouzounian, did not deny the claims that she had been intimate with Affleck, according to ET.

Following the news that Affleck and Garner had separated, a source told ET that Christine had tipped off the paparazzi that she would be at the L.A.-area rental house in which he was staying. Telling friends that she was let go by Ben and Jennifer, Ouzounian reportedly arrived at Affleck’s home in his Lexus.

Although Us Weekly reported that Ben had been secretly dating the nanny, with the two frequently emailing and texting after she was let go, Affleck’s rep attacked those reports. The rep told ET that “all allegations of a romantic relationship are baseless and untrue” and that the claims in that story were “complete garbage and full of lies.”

As for how Jennifer felt about those rumors of an alleged affair with the family nanny, she broke her silence last year, according to Perez Hilton.

Despite those allegations that Ben had an affair with the children’s nanny Christine Ouzounian, Garner said that the former employee had nothing to do with the decision to split.

“We had been separated for months before I ever heard about the nanny. She had nothing to do with our decision to divorce.”

Although the nanny “was not a part of the equation,” Jennifer was open about her views regarding the impact on the children.

“Bad judgment? Yes. It’s not great for your kids for [a nanny] to disappear from their lives,” admitted Garner. “I have had to have conversations about the meaning of ‘scandal.'”

Moreover, Jennifer emphasized that she doesn’t have regrets about marrying Affleck.

“I didn’t marry the big fat movie star; I married him. And I would go back and remake that decision,” said Garner.

The actress shared that she still views him as “the love of my life,” but she admitted that he is “just a complicated guy.” And that complex character can cause issues, added Jennifer.

“I always say, ‘When his sun shines on you, you feel it.’ But when the sun is shining elsewhere, it’s cold. He can cast quite a shadow,” summed up the actress.

[Featured Image by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP Images]