14 DAY TRIAL // Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck announced their separation in June, but it seems that the divorce might not go through after all. The estranged spouses, who have been spending the entire summer together for the sake of their 3 children, have been spotted out on a “romantic dinner date” in Malibu.
The children were not around, but some family members also tagged along, Entertainment Tonight reports.
Ben and Jen step out without the kids
As you can see in the video below, the estranged spouses hit up Malibu hotspot Nobu with a few other people, looking perfectly at ease. This was the first time they were photographed together without the children, which would explain why the rumor that a reconciliation is in the cards is already picking up speed in the blogosphere.
The ET report notes that “there was no PDA” between the two, but they were incredibly relaxed in each other’s company, and they arrived and left together. Ben, apparently, was “the perfect gentleman” throughout.
Jennifer and Ben were married for 10 years, announcing the separation the next day after their 10th wedding anniversary. They never said publicly what caused the split, but it is widely believed that he cheated on her with the kids’ nanny, a 28-year-old woman who then went and sold the story to the tabloids.
Even with Ben’s cheating, it was also said that Jennifer had not lost hope in getting through this, and that the reason they were spending so much time together was that they were giving their relationship another trial run.
No dating for Jennifer
Meanwhile, a report in People Magazine says that Jennifer is not even thinking of getting back into the dating game after the divorce becomes final. Seeing how People is said to be getting their intel directly from Garner’s publicist, the report probably weighs a bit more in terms of credibility than the rumors that she’s getting back with Ben.
“Jen is doing well,” says a spy. “She’s still adjusting to a new normal, but seems more accepting of the separation. She can’t even imagine dating. It will probably be a long time before she is able to move on romantically.”
Affleck stayed with the nanny for a while longer after the separation announcement, reportedly telling her to “lay low” until the novelty of it wore off. Thinking that she could scare him into not dumping her anytime soon, she leaked the story to the press and then tried to blackmail him.
After initially paying her off to keep quiet (which clearly didn’t work), he reportedly got her to sign an NDA for a larger sum of money. The nanny has been off the radar since, so chances are Ben isn’t that eager to date soon either.