Many people who have tied the knot may say that marriage is a series of adjustments.
It may be little things like doing the laundry on a Sunday instead of a Friday or putting
the toilet seat down.
Sometimes those adjustments are much larger, and they can become too much to bear.
Like if your partner suddenly became famous overnight, how would you handle it?
Well, this is what happened to Scott Foley when his wife, Jennifer Garner, shot to stardom
after landing a lead role in the wildly popular spy series, Alias.
Eventually, the pressure made their relationship crack…
Jennifer Garner and Scott Foley met in 1998 on the set of Felicity . The actress guest-starred
as the long-distance girlfriend of one of the series’ main characters, Noel who was
played by Foley.
“She played my girlfriend on Felicity.
We met on the show, and we hit it off instantly and we were soon dating,” the Scandal star
recalled.
Her two-episode appearance not only scored her a boyfriend that would one day become
her husband, it also caught the eyes of the director of the series, J.J.
Abrams.
He would soon propel Garner to stardom.
The renowned director gave her a role that skyrocketed her career as an undercover agent
Sydney Bristow in Alias.
In typical Hollywood fashion, Jennifer and Scott had a whirlwind romance.
And after two years of dating, they were married.
The young lovebirds were both 28 years old at the time and happier than ever.
Everything seemed like it could only get better for the couple.
They were both humble up-and-comers and it was
all very exciting and romantic.
But just 4 years later, divorce papers were being signed.
In 2003, Garner and Foley stirred up breakup rumors when she arrived at the Oscars without
her husband by her side.
Although she had a huge smile on her face that night, the legal documents indicated
that THAT was the exact day that marked their official split.
Wow, we have to give Jen props for even showing up, right?
When the divorce papers were analyzed, the cited reason was irreconcilable differences.
Ah, a classic Hollywood favorite.
But there may have been several causes behind the split.
The 13 Going On 30 actress was linked to her Alias co-star, Michael Vartan in the middle
of the divorce.
Rumors were spiraling that Michael and the actress had been having an affair.
Both Scott and Jennifer denied that a third party was the reason for their divorce.
“Nobody else was involved.
Jennifer became a huge celebrity.
She became a huge star, and she deserved everything she got.
There was no other relationship, there was no infidelity, nothing.
People get divorced, you know?
Through no one’s fault and everyone’s fault,” he said.
And just like that, people felt like they had figured out why the couple had parted
ways…
Jennifer’s career began taking off and it started taking a toll on Scott.
The pressure of being in the public eye and having their every little move analyzed may
have been too much for them to maintain their marriage.
There could have also been some jealousy on the actor’s part at the time because he
had been in a major series for quite a while and hadn’t received the same attention as
Jennifer.
She was getting a lead role after a lead role, and he felt like he was stagnant.
The Elektra actress felt differently and thought
the cause of their separation was because the duo ended up being victims of Hollywood.
“Everything is speeded up here.
It’s a fast-lane life, and if something is not working, it is considered best to end
it without much thought.
If we lived where I was brought up in West Virginia , we would probably still be together.
But our breakup was amicable,” she said.
We can agree with Jen because we can see how many relationships Hollywood has claimed.
Years after the breakup, Garner spoke openly about what she thinks led to the divorce.
"He’s a great guy.
We were full-on grown-ups but looking back I'm aware we did not know what hit us.
We didn't have a shot.
We just imploded,” the actress said.
At the same time, she felt that their age was a factor, and she wishes she never married
the actor until she was at least in her thirties.
“Everyone reaches maturity at different times.
I wish I’d known to wait for marriage until I was 30 or over.
I did marry in my 20s and I found divorce a crushing experience.
I thought the divorce statistics would never apply to me.
I was beyond heartbroken when they did,” Garner said.
How heartbreaking is that?
But the actress didn’t let herself wallow in her sadness for too long.
Just one year after her divorce from Foley was finalized, she was married to Ben Affleck.
At the time of the wedding, she was already pregnant with their eldest daughter, Violet.
The twosome welcomed another daughter 4 years later and a son 3 years after that.
Sadly, their union didn’t last, and their marriage came crashing down after 13 years
together.
This devastated the actress, of course, because this meant divorce number two.
“I’m a pretty hard worker.
It’s one of the pains in my life that something I believe in so strongly I’ve completely
failed at twice.
You have to have two people to dance a marriage.
My heart’s a little on the tender side right now, and it’s always easier to focus on
the ways that you feel hurt, but I know that, with time and some perspective, I’ll have
a clearer sense of where I let the system down because there’s no way I get off in
this,” she said.
Since then, Jennifer began an on-again, off-again relationship with businessman, John Miller,
and they are together to this day.
Garner and Affleck successfully co-parent their children and have a close friendship.
Even though the actress went on to have another divorce she said she will never say never
to getting married again.
"I mean I definitely don't think that I'll be single forever,” Jennifer said.
Where is Foley today, you may ask?
Well, two years after his divorce was finalized from Jen, he got engaged to Marika Domińczyk
You might know her for playing Doctor Eliza Minnick on Grey’s Anatomy.
The couple got married a year after Scott popped the question and they hit some pretty
big milestones within the first couple years of marriage.
They welcomed their daughter just 2 years after the wedding and two sons a couple of
years after that.
Even though Marika and Scott have been together for almost 2 decades, it doesn’t stop interviewers
from asking him about his first marriage.
A short-lived marriage, according to him.
When was the last time you talked about your A-list ex with Andy Cohen in front of your
current partner?
Anyone?
Must just be Scott Foley!
In an interview on the Andy Cohen Live show, the actor was lovingly grilled about his former
relationship with The Adam Project actress.
“Jennifer and I were together for a total of about five years.
I downplay that because my wife is right behind me.
I'm going to let you be my eyes in the back of my head, Andy.
This is dangerous, dangerous territory, my friend,” he joked.
But after hearing the timeline of five years, Dominczyk was nodding her head no and said
her husband and Garner were only together for three years.
"I think we were married for three," Foley clarified and his wife co-signed that time
frame.
This didn’t stop the TV show host from continuing to press the actor for more details about
their relationship while Marika stood on the sidelines laughing.
The actress was apparently really enjoying watching her husband squirm while he tried
to answer the questions.
Cohen went on to ask if Foley would avoid Garner if he saw her out at Hollywood events
or even in the streets.
“No.
You say hello.
You’re very civil.
I mean, we do not keep in contact because she has her own family.
I have mine.
It wouldn’t be something that we would search out.
But I’ve seen her a few times especially when we were living in L.A., and Marika has
been with me.
You know, everybody says hi and you’re cordial and you move on.
That’s life, right?”
the actor responded.
Both Scott and Jennifer seem to have made the families they both deserved even though
they had to go through heartbreak to get there.
Through it all, Garner still believes in the beauty of marriage and knows that time will
heal all wounds.
And like she said herself, she would never say never to getting married again.
Foley is also happier than ever with his wife and children.
They are living their dream life with a beautiful family dynamic.
And we can’t help but love how this couple used their divorce as a way to learn and grow
under the pressures of Hollywood.
What do you think about Scott and Jennifer splitting up?
Let us know in the comments below.
For more Hollywood stories, stay tuned to Rumour Juice.