Jennifer Garner opens up about protecting her children from intense paparazzi attention

Jennifer Garner has opened up about the intense media attention she faced during her years in the spotlight, revealing that she was once asked to stop bringing her children to soccer practice because of overwhelming paparazzi presence.

The 54-year-old actress said the attention surrounding her and her then-husband Ben Affleck became so extreme that it began affecting their family’s daily life.

The former couple, who share children Violet, 20, Fin, 17, and Samuel, 14, struggled with constant media attention whenever they were out in public.

Speaking on Evan Ross Katz’s Shut Up Evan podcast, Garner recalled how photographers would follow her family and create dangerous situations while trying to capture photos.

“If I went through a yellow light, 15 cars would go through the red behind me,” she said. “They would drive up onto people’s lawns, even on a hillside.”

The actress explained that the situation became so disruptive that a local soccer association asked the family to stop attending practices because of the number of photographers and vehicles gathering around.

“We were trying to have our little one play soccer, and the association asked us to stop because there were 20 cars coming,” Garner said. “So it wasn’t just about us. It was just an industry that had gotten out of control.”

Garner said the constant attention was especially difficult when her children needed privacy or care.

“If you show up and you’re trying to get into the paediatrician and you have a sick kid on your shoulder and you’re scared and you can’t get into the door because you’re blocked by photographers, there’s something wrong with that,” she said. “And the kids are paying the price.”

Although Garner acknowledged that she felt uncomfortable complaining about her situation due to the privileges that came with fame, she said the issue went beyond inconvenience and became a matter of safety.

“It felt like, ‘Poor little me, my poor little kids who have everything in the world,’ but it was a danger to everyone around us,” she explained.

After years of dealing with photographers, Garner said she developed complicated relationships with some members of the paparazzi who regularly followed her.

The Five-Star Weekend actress described having an unusual level of understanding with one photographer who had followed her for years, despite previously asking him to leave and even contacting authorities.

“I have a very interesting relationship with my main guy,” she said. “I’ve done anything to ask him to leave. And at the same time, we have an odd respect for each other.”

Garner recalled one moment when she turned to the same photographer for help after feeling threatened by another person following her.

“I was followed by someone who, for whatever reason, I thought was going to hurt me, and I ran to him because I knew him and trusted him,” she said.

She described the situation as complicated, joking that there was “kind of a Stockholm syndrome thing” involved, while noting that she has also repeatedly asked photographers to give her space.

Garner said her experiences have shaped the way she views fame, privacy and protecting her children from unwanted attention.