Jennifer Garner attends the 94th Annual Academy Awards at Hollywood and Highland© Getty Images

Jennifer Garner's tearful end of an era video with three children with Ben Affleck remembered

One of the 13 Going On 30 star's kids even made an appearance

Ahad Sanwari - New York
Senior WriterNew York
May 17, 2023

Jennifer Garner has shown frequently on social media that she knows how to get in touch with her emotions, although she herself wasn't prepared for the way they'd overtake her after an end of an era.

On her Instagram Stories, the actress, 51, shared a clip of herself breaking down into tears in slow motion, quite dramatic fashion.

VIDEO: Jennifer Garner opens up about parenting teenage daughters

The video was a throwback to one she'd shared in 2020, and she'd written alongside it: "Happy 10 year anniversary to our collective nervous breakdown caused by the finale of The Office."

The long-running sitcom, based on the British Ricky Gervais show of the same name, ran from 2005 to 2013, completing a full decade since its series finale aired on May 16, 2013.

MORE: Jennifer Garner’s surprising new look gets fans talking in video you need to see

In the original video, Jennifer recalled binge-watching the show with her three children during quarantine. She shares Violet, 17, Seraphina, 14, and Samuel, 11 with ex-husband Ben Affleck, who she was married to from 2005-2018. 

In the 2020 clip, she recorded herself crying in slow motion and through voiceover, poked fun at herself for her extreme emotion, joking: "Oh my goodness, look who needed a good cry, and maybe a shower would've been helpful."

At the end of the clip, as she wipes away her tears, one of her children recites off-camera: "Bears, Beets, Battlestar Galactica," a quote referring to one of the show's breakout characters, Dwight Schrute, played by Rainn Wilson.

In her caption, the mom-of-three wrote: "My kids and I have spent months piled on the couch working our way through 'How to Behave as Grownups', aka #TheOffice. 

MORE: Jennifer Garner discusses eye-rolling teen daughter in latest interview

"Apparently we are sensitive people – the finale hit us pretty hard. When I realized I'd accidentally shot my farewell testimonial in slo-mo I realized: your Monday might need this, too."

© Getty Images

Jennifer is a mom to Violet, Seraphina, and Samuel

Speaking with Allure recently about raising two teenagers and a pre-teen in a social media world, she said: "I have a lot of faith in my kids. I don't love every behavior all the time, always. It's gnarly growing up.

"We didn't have the eyes on us that our kids have," she says, recalling: "I was such a first-time mom. [My eldest daughter] didn't have a shot. She couldn't have a free thought – I was all over her. I was a nightmare for everyone around me."

MORE: Jennifer Garner reveals the surprising way her three kids side with dad Ben Affleck over her

MORE: Jennifer Garner reveals the one parenting trick to make her kids instantly happy

The Yes Day star did state, though, that her ultimate goal was to be a mom, and that to see that come true meant she would happily tackle any dilemma thrown her way.

© Getty Images

The Office celebrated the 10th anniversary of its series finale on May 16

"Being a mother was one thing I knew I was going to be," she admits, adding: "I really could have been a mother in any way. I could have adopted, I could have fostered, but there was no doubt I was going to be a mom. I mean, I was the kid with the doll everywhere I went."

Check out some more photos of Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck with their children below: 

© Getty Images

The mother-daughter duo of Jennifer and Violet are identical

© Getty Images

The actress with her parents Patricia and William, her sister Melissa, and her three kids at her Hollywood Walk of Fame ceremony in 2018

© Getty Images

Jennifer was recently spotted out at a Lakers Game with her son Samuel

© Getty Images

Jennifer and Violet looked identical while attending a state dinner honoring Emmanuel Macron

© Getty Images

Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner attend the 2014 Vanity Fair Oscar Party

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