Jennifer Garner has reportedly been spending more time with Ryan Reynolds – and according to a source, Ben Affleck isn’t happy about their budding friendship.
“Let’s just say up front that Ben and Matt [Damon] are not friends with Ryan, and, in fact, [they] see him as something of a direct competitor, even though they have tons of mutual collaborators and even business team members in common,” a source exclusively tells the National Enquirer.
Since Garner and Affleck’s marriage ended in 2018, the Elektra actress, 53, has become “close” with Reynolds, 48, through their mutual friend Deadpool & Wolverine director Shawn Levy.
The source says that Levy “prides himself” on “bringing people together” creatively, and with Hugh Jackman and Reynolds planning to team up again for a new comedy, “it’s a safe bet that Jen is going to show up in that project.”
“Frankly, she can’t wait to get back together with those guys because the energy is so different from the world Ben and Matt have built around themselves,” the source continues. (Garner reprised her role as Elektra for a cameo in 2024’s Deadpool & Wolverine.) “As Jen continues to cement her own Hollywood coalition, Ryan is a key player in all that.”
While Affleck, 52, and Garner take their “modern family coparenting” style seriously and have maintained a cordial relationship in recent years, that means the Air actor “is stuck” around Reynolds’ and his ex-wife’s “increasing closeness.”
“That’s not comfortable for him, but he simply doesn’t have any choice or say in the matter,” the source says. “He has to accept it!”
This comes after Affleck’s high-profile split from Jennifer Lopez. The former couple – who initially dated in the early 2000s – rekindled their romance in 2021 and said “I do” the following year. However, their relationship was over less than two years later, and their divorce was finalized in January.
As he navigates the situation, the Accountant star has been turning to Garner for support, according to In Touch.
“Ben leans on her for everything. He’s got his own place, but he’s still at her house all the time for family dinners and she never fails to send him home with a care package of food,” an insider claimed in December 2024. “He loves being looked after by her. He goes to her whenever he has a big career or life decision to make for her advice.”
