What Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner's Famous Exes Said About Their Failed Romances

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Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner announced on Tuesday that they were divorcing after 10 years of marriage, but before they got together, they both had several high-profile relationships.

While neither Affleck nor Garner have publicly addressed their breakup, over the years, their famous exes have.

Affleck dated Gwyneth Paltrow from 1997 to 2000, co-starring with her in 2000's Bounce. In January, Paltrow explained why her romance with Affleck didn't work out. "He was not in a good place in his life to have a girlfriend," she told Howard Stern, admitting that her parents were "OK" with them not being together.

Stern also asked her about a joke she had previously made about Affleck while they were dating, specifically, "He'd be better off dating a Scores stripper." Paltrow laughed and responded, "Well that was true at the time."

A few years later Affleck moved on to Jennifer Lopez in 2002 and embarked on a whirlwind romance, getting engaged later that year. Quickly dubbed "Bennifer" by the media, they co-starred in Gigli and Jersey Girl before breaking up in January 2004.

In Lopez's 2014 memoir, True Love, J.Lo admitted that her failed relationship with Affleck was her "first real heartbreak."


WATCH: Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner Split, Announce Divorce

"It felt like my heart had been torn out of my chest," she wrote. "People do lots of things to anesthetize themselves in moments like these. Some people do drugs, some drink and some go out and party."

Lopez explained that her split with Affleck led her back to her own ex, Marc Anthony, with whom she has two kids. "I sought out comfort in another person, tried to find someone who could make me feel loved and wanted in my loneliest hours. And that was the moment when Marc reappeared in my life."

And what about Garner?

The actress met Scott Foley on the set of The WB's Felicity in 1998, before getting married in 2000 and divorcing in 2004.

Foley blamed their split on Garner's then-rising stardom.

"Nobody else was involved," Foley told TV Guide in 2005. "Jennifer became a huge celebrity. She became a huge star, and she deserved everything she got. There was no other relationship, there was no infidelity, nothing. People get divorced, you know? Through no one's fault and everyone's fault."


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As for her other ex, Alias co-star Michael Vartan, who she dated in 2004, he told USA Today in 2005 that they were still close, even describing their breakup as "benign."

"We're much better off as friends," he admitted.

Vartan revealed that Garner told him about her engagement to Affleck. "Jennifer and I were best friends first, during [the romance] and after," he said at the time. "I'm hoping Ben will put me in one of his next movies."

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#ExesGoals!

Check out the video below to see a married Garner flirt with an engaged Ben Affleck in 2003 in the video below.

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