This certainly sounds adult and civilized: Ben Affleck reportedly introduced his girlfriend Lindsay Shookus to his estranged wife Jennifer Garner at a get-together at Garner’s home over the Thanksgiving weekend.
Two days after Garner hosted a big family Thanksgiving dinner for Affleck, their three children and Affleck’s mother and brother Casey Affleck, the actress reportedly hosted another event involving her estranged husband, the Daily Mail reported.
This was a lengthy “hang out” session with Affleck and Shookus on Saturday afternoon.
On Saturday, Affleck, 45, and the “Saturday Night Live” producer, 37, first had a late afternoon bite at a rustic-chic restaurant in Brentwood and then headed over to Garner’s posh home in nearby Pacific Palisades, the Daily Mail said, citing the paparazzi agency X17Online.
“Our sources tell us the trio hung out for about an hour, and everything was quite friendly considering the circumstances,” the paparazzi agency said, citing its sources.
“Ben and Lindsay looked so happy to finally be making their relationship legit with Jen,” X17Online said. “They’ve had to tiptoe around and Jen has resisted having the kids hang out with Lindsay.”
But the website Gossip Cop, citing its own sources, disputes the idea that such a meeting took place.
“While there are photos of Affleck and Shookus out together in Brentwood on Saturday, there is no evidence to support the contention that they went from that outing to a ‘sit-down’ at ‘Jen’s pad,'” Gossip Cop said.
Whether the meeting actually took place, there is no doubt that bringing Shookus and Garner together could ever be easy, given that some reports said that Affleck and Shookus started their affair in 2013. He reportedly met Shookus while hosting an episode of “Saturday Night Live.” At the time, he and Garner were still very much married.
Garner also recently revealed that it wasn’t her idea to end the marriage, saying in an interview that she never would have chosen to be a single mom.
“I would not have chosen this life for myself or for my kids,” she told News.com.au. “I would not choose to be single or be in this position.”
Garner added that she hasn’t even begun to think about dating — unlike Affleck.
“I haven’t been on a date and I am not interested in dating,” she told News.com.au, shaking her head. “People want to set me up and I am just like, ‘No thank you!’”
Garner reportedly confronted Affleck about Shookus in 2015, around the same time that she and Affleck announced they were splitting up. The couple finalized their plans to divorce in April.
Nonetheless, Garner has said she still cares for Affleck and that the two of them work at getting along so they can co-parent their three children, Violet, 11, Seraphina, 8, and Sam, 5.
It’s also been reported that Garner, along with Casey Affleck, have been instrumental in getting Affleck back into treatment to deal with his alcohol addiction.
It’s been a difficult year for Affleck in other ways, too, though in some part due to his own choices.
He has been caught up in the Harvey Weinstein scandal because the producer had been a mentor for his 1997 breakthrough film “Good Will Hunting” and had since been a frequent collaborator.
In the fallout from the Weinstein sexual harassment and assault revelations, Affleck also was accused by actress Rose McGowan of knowing about some of Weinstein’s mistreatment of women and therefore of being an enabler. Affleck then was accused himself of groping several women.
Affleck has also taken heat for promoting the career and the successful 2017 Oscar campaign of his brother Casey, even as Casey was dogged by allegations by two female colleagues that he sexually harassed them on a film set. The allegations were contained in 2010 lawsuits that the actor has since settled.
Meanwhile, Affleck’s new Batman film “Justice League” opened earlier this month but has been both a critical and box-office disappointment.
But with all that, Garner said she felt it was important to have her estranged husband join her for Thanksgiving.
In an interview with Entertainment Tonight, she revealed that he and his mother would be coming, but that they would occupy the kids while she cooked.
She detailed all the dishes she happily planned to prepare all on her own: cranberry-glazed turkey, cornbread, stuffing, gravy, sweet potato pudding and pies.
“If they will play with the kids and just let me cook, it is heaven for me,” Garner explained. “Just let me have that day in the kitchen.”
