Come one, come all to Jennifer Garner’s Instagram for a laugh, a homemade pretzel recipe and, now, sage breakup advice.
The “Alias” alum’s social media is consistently one of the most delightful places on the internet, where she regularly charms her millions of followers with mom memes, an anesthesia-induced “Hamilton” singalong and reminders that you (yes, you) should still be wearing a mask.
But Garner switched into a different gear on Monday, responding to a fan struggling to keep her spirits up following a difficult breakup.
Under a post featuring various goofy photos of the Golden Globe winner staying at home during the coronavirus pandemic, an Instagram user sought out Garner’s wisdom in the moving on department.
“I wish I had your happiness and feeling of security. And I don’t say that resentfully because you present yourself as a good and kind person. Your actions show you to be good and kind,” the fan commented. “It’s that I have finally gotten the courage to tell my husband to leave after years of emotional abuse and I feel like I will never find happiness or security. I find a sense of balm from seeing yours but it’s also mixed with a winsome feeling because I don’t think I’ll ever be there. He is so vindictive and powerful and I have nothing and no one. Why am I saying this to a stranger? I really don’t know.”
The social media user likely never expected the “Peppermint” star to respond to her story. But so she did with a heartfelt message, hinting perhaps about how Garner herself recovered after her own breakup.
“Your heart sounds heavy, I am so sorry,” Garner wrote back. “Hopefully you have powerful women in your corner, reminding you of your strength and your worth. Hopefully, you are able to calm your mind with prayer/meditation/ exercise/ art. Laughter will come and really ― it is worth fighting for. Until then, all of my love. ”
Garner, of course, is no stranger to the complexities of a messy breakup, as she continues to navigate post-divorce life with ex-husband Ben Affleck. The former couple, who were married for 10 years, also share three children together ― son Samuel, 8, and daughters Seraphina, 11, and Violet, 14.
In her first interview after news of her split with Affleck broke, Garner gave some insight into her own healing process.
“When the earth shakes you go to what you know from childhood,” she told Vanity Fair back in 2016. “All of a sudden I’m sitting down at the piano. I went back to church. I sat down and wrote bad poetry all day because I was so sad. I needed a dance class; it reminded me of my fight scenes [in ‘Alias’] and how I missed that. I feel the need to be physical and I feel the need to punch someone. You know what I look forward to? I look forward to getting past the pity stage. I look forward to just having a sense of humor.”
Affleck has since moved onto a very public relationship with “Knives Out” star Ana de Armas, while Garner has been reportedly dating businessman John Miller for over a year.