Actress Jennifer Garner attended a church service in Santa Monica on Sunday, one day after celebrating ex-husband Ben Affleck's 54th birthday alongside their children.
The 54-year-old star flashed a megawatt smile as she left the service dressed in a crew-neck white T-shirt and a billowy patterned blue-and-white skirt.
She added a pair of white sneakers to her outfit and carried a light-colored cardigan. Garner also wore black-rimmed sunglasses with ombre-tinted lenses, while her brunette locks cascaded down her back.
Garner completed her styling with a swipe of rouge lipstick coated on her pout. Santa Monica, a coastal city in Southern California, is home to the local congregation where she attended service.
The Sunday outing came after Garner and Affleck were spotted on a lunch date on Saturday to mark the Boston-bred actor's 54th birthday. The former couple were joined for the birthday meal by two of their children, Fin, 17, and Samuel, 14. Garner and Affleck are also parents to 20-year-old Violet.
Reflections on fame and family privacy
Last month, Garner opened up about her fraught relationship with fame during an appearance on Evan Ross Katz's Shut Up Evan podcast. She reflected on raising her three children in the spotlight, revealing how media scrutiny disrupted their everyday routines.
The actress recalled how photographers followed her family's every move on the road. "If I went through a yellow light, 15 cars would go through the red behind me," Garner recalled on the podcast. "They would drive up onto people's lawns, even on a hillside."
Garner, who rose to global fame starring as CIA officer Sydney Bristow in the hit television series Alias, detailed how paparazzi attention affected her children's recreational activities, including soccer practices.
"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."
She went on to discuss the incessant presence of photographers outside essential family destinations, such as medical offices.
"If you show up and you're trying to get into the pediatrician 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, and the kids are paying the price," Garner said.
Acknowledging the complexity of her public life, Garner pointed out a feeling of ambivalence regarding the contrast between privilege and privacy. "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 said.
Upcoming role in The Five-Star Weekend
Alongside her family outings, Garner has been busy promoting her latest acting project, the upcoming series The Five-Star Weekend for streaming platform Peacock.
The miniseries is based on the 2023 novel of the same name by author Elin Hilderbrand, who is widely known for her New England-set summer fiction. Garner serves as an executive producer on the production in addition to starring in the series.
The ensemble cast includes Regina Hall, Chloe Sevigny, D'Arcy Carden and Gemma Chan alongside Garner. According to the logline listed on IMDb, the story follows "a beloved food influencer grappling with loss hosts four friends from different chapters of her life for a weekend in Nantucket, where hidden truths emerge and relationships evolve amid coastal luxury."
Garner expressed enthusiasm for the show's portrayals of mature female friendships during an interview with Elle magazine. "I hope people watch this and have a blast," she told the publication.
She added that the series addresses rarely depicted adult health topics candidly. "You have women in their 30s, 40s, 50s, talking about perimenopause and menopause, but it's not pedantic and it's not an eye roll," Garner said.
