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Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner Went to Disney World, Were Absolutely Miserable

They spent his birthday weekend together for the kids, barely interacted with each other the whole time

Aug 19, 2015 07:41 GMT  ·  By
Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner were married for 10 years, have 3 children together
   Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner were married for 10 years, have 3 children together

Ben Affleck turned 43 last weekend and he chose to spend his birthday with his 3 children with now-estranged wife Jennifer Garner, visiting theme parks. On Sunday, new reports indicate, they hit Disney World, but even though it’s dubbed “the happiest place on earth,” both Ben and Jen were absolutely miserable the whole time.

The actors announced their decision to divorce at the beginning of July, citing the usual “irreconcilable differences.” In more recent weeks, reports have emerged to say that the “differences” actually consisted of his cheating on her with the kids’ nanny, a 28-year-old woman named Christine Ouzounian, who has sold her story to the press and is now hoping she might even get a career in television.

Their focus ever since has been on putting a united front for the sake of the children, which also includes not removing their wedding bands in their presence.

Together, but not really

Embedded below is a tweet from the Daily Mail, which links to photos of Ben and Jen at Disney World. Word has it that they skipped the long lines and got to ride some of the most famous rides, but there was nothing about their outward appearance and behavior to indicate they were having any fun.

If anything, eyewitnesses tell People Magazine, they had the worst time possible. As much as they want to stick together for the sake of the children, they can’t hide the fact that they would rather be anywhere else than with each other.

So, while they’re still in the same place at the same time and wearing their wedding bands, they’re also going out of their way to limit interactions. They’re hoping the kids won’t notice.

“[They looked] so tense and uncomfortable. When she was around him, you could see the tenseness. Her shoulders would rise up,” an insider says. “There was never a point that all of them were really [interacting] together. Neither of them looked too happy.”

Drawing attention from the nanny scandal

There’s no doubt that Affleck and Garner are working hard to make their divorce as easy as possible on the children, but there might be another reason behind their decision to spend so much time together, especially in locations where they know they’re more likely to be photographed by the paparazzi.

If we believe reports online, they’re doing their best to draw attention from the nanny cheating scandal, because too much dirt has already come to light, painting Affleck in a very negative light. This will ultimately leave a dent on his image, but it might also be detrimental to the children later in life, when they grow up to read about it.

Meanwhile, the nanny, now that she’s done spilling her guts to the press (and she’s reportedly also gotten Affleck to pay her enough money), is looking on banking more on the sudden media interest in her. She can’t openly talk about the affair, but she’s more than ready for a career in reality television, so she’s looking to hire an agent to get her a job.