​Jennifer Garner opens up about public scrutiny and how she has found new purpose on a special farm

By Robert Peterpaul

Jennifer Garner has lived most of her adult life in the public eye. Between starring in hit films like 13 Going on 30 and marrying A-list actor Ben Affleck, who she separated from after a decade in 2015, the world has kept an extreme interest in what’s going on with the bubbly brunette. Now, at age 46, the actress is opening up about the effects such public attention and, furthermore, scrutiny has had on her emotional state. "And looking back on that," she said in an interview with CBS’ Sunday Morning, "I really feel the stress of it. I really, I could cry talking about it."

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Jennifer Garner opened up about life under public scrutiny Photo: Gabe Ginsberg/Getty Images

"What I think I've learned is that the scrutiny in your private life puts a pressure to make something happen," she told the show’s interviewer Conor Knighton. "You feel a pressure to hurry up and get married, 'cause you think that'll end the Are they engaged? Are they not? [talk]. "And that's true in the reverse, as well. If there is any inkling of trouble, or if the tabloids decide there's trouble, it can create trouble.”

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"But to be honest, public scrutiny, everyone says, 'Oh, you've had to go through this in public.' The public isn't what's hard. What's hard is going through it," she added. Of course, Jennifer has a lot of other things to focus on these days. Besides lighting up the big screen, the star is a mom to three kids: 6-year-old son Samuel, 9-year-old daughter Seraphina Rose Elizabeth and 12-year-old daughter Violet Anne. Fortunately, it seems she has found a new way to connect with both them and her old family roots along the way.

Jennifer has rejuvenated her family's farm in Oklahoma where her mother grew up and her uncle still resides. She’s using it to create ingredients for Once Upon a Farm, the organic, fresh baby food company she co-founded. Jennifer says her goal is to get quality food into the homes of busy parents to better put their children on the path to a healthy life.

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"Well, first of all, if I had any idea how happy it would make my mom to be part of bringing this little farm back to life, I would have done it ten times over," she said. "But your family just has a connection to the land that has raised them. And I just wanted to be connected. I wanted the business to be connected to my family." Catch the full interview on CBS’ Sunday Morning at 9:00 a.m. on July 15.

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