Protecting their children during this difficult transition period has meant maintaining a united front for Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck. So there have been plenty of family outings including one to DisneyWorld for his 43rd birthday.
Since announcing their separation and their hopes of "going forward with love and friendship for one another", the estranged couple have also kept wearing their wedding rings – until now that is. Over the last few days the Argo star has been seen without his ring as he cared for the youngsters while their mother is filming Miracles from Heaven in Atlanta.
Ben Affleck had reportedly been wearing his ring for the sake of his children
He was seen holding hands with their younger daughter, six-year-old Seraphina, on a walk around LA. Ben and Jennifer have two other children Sam, three, and Violet, nine, who joined her parents when the Hollywood heavyweight testified before the US Senate about his charity work.
After the family's trip to DisneyWorld with his mother Chris, the actor took the children to visit Jennifer in Atlanta ahead of the start to the school term. The 42-year-old actress previously spoke about trying to balance the demands of both their careers, with Ben especially receiving a lot of interesting offers in the last few years.
The devoted father may now feel the time has come to go without it
"Ben is super busy and I'm super happy for him," she said. "I chose to stay home this year and just said, 'Go for it babe. Do it all. Do Gone Girl, do Batman, do The Accountant. Do everything.'
"I want that for him and I'm happy for him. And he says the same to me. Except that he's really busy. But he understands that when I really have to do it, we figure it out."
Figuring it out means that she is concentrating on her work at the moment. When his estranged wife wraps up her shoot, Ben will begin directing and acting in Prohibition crime drama Live By Night, followed by two more installments of his Batman series, which take him up to 2019.