Jennifer Garner says the end of her marriage to Ben Affleck forced her to confront a career question she had largely avoided while raising their children, how she was going to support herself over the long term.
During the August 25 episode of Aspire with Emma Grede, Garner said she “panicked” after realizing how far she had stepped back from acting. She began questioning how many working years Hollywood would still give her and whether she had built a career that could provide the financial stability she now needed.
“I have to take care of myself. I have to take care of these kids. So what is it going to be?” Garner recalled thinking, according to Just Jared. Garner and Affleck separated in 2015 after 10 years of marriage and finalized their divorce in 2018.
Her answer was not simply to accept every acting job available. Garner needed work that could coexist with parenting, which meant prioritizing projects near Los Angeles, avoiding long stretches away from home and building another source of income through Once Upon a Farm.
Garner Built Her Career Plan Around Staying Close to Her Kids
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Garner said she and her manager began looking realistically at what kinds of jobs she could accept. “I can work in Los Angeles. I can’t leave these kids for six months at a time,” she recalled, adding that although she loved going on location, it was not practical during that period of her life.
She does not regret stepping back. Garner told PEOPLE that she felt fortunate to work some of the time while spending much of her children’s early years at home, describing the arrangement as getting “the best of both worlds.”
Once Upon a Farm Became Part of Her Plan
Entrepreneurship became another piece of Garner’s response. She said Once Upon a Farm was “very much a part of that play,” referring to the career strategy she developed after realizing she needed a more sustainable way to earn money while remaining available to her family.
Garner joined Once Upon a Farm in 2017 as a co-founder and chief brand officer alongside former Annie’s CEO John Foraker and original founders Cassandra Curtis and Ari Raz. The children’s organic food company eventually grew into a publicly traded business.
Once Upon a Farm went public in February 2026. The company and some of its existing shareholders sold about 11 million shares at $18 each, raising nearly $198 million and giving the business a valuation of approximately $724.2 million, according to Reuters.
Garner Says Fame Did Not Guarantee Financial Security
Garner also addressed the difference between being highly recognizable and having dependable income. “It’s not like you can just un-famous yourself,” she said. “Life is expensive, and you still have to kind of figure out how you’re gonna live.”
She said being well known did not mean “there is some great living being provided for you.” Garner, who said she had not previously spent much time thinking about money, reached a more practical conclusion as she considered what came next: “Oh, I need to be an earner here.”
Garner Is Acting More Again as Her Children Get Older
The limits Garner once put on her acting schedule have loosened as her children have grown older. In a June interview cited by PEOPLE, she said she “hardly worked for a long time” when her children were young and her family was going through upheaval, but she is now grateful to have more of her acting life back.
That return has included a particularly active 2026. Garner starred in and executive produced Season 2 of Apple TV’s The Last Thing He Told Me, which premiered in February, and she leads Peacock’s The Five Star Weekend, which debuted in July.
Even with more freedom to work, Garner told InStyle that she still generally chooses projects based near Los Angeles. “I’m still their mom, I’m not going anywhere, I’m still all-in,” she said, while adding that she is also grateful to be acting more again.