Jennifer Garner has had many roles, but she’s always made it clear that being a mom is her number one priority. Since having her three children, the actress has spoken honestly about a range of topics, from work-life balance and finding quality time to co-parenting after divorce. And now she is opening up about how her body has changed since first giving birth in 2015.
In an interview with Giovanna Fletcher, the host of the Happy Mum Happy Baby podcast, Garner explains how her body was forever changed after having kids—something she has come to fully accept over the years. “I can work really hard and I can be really fit, and I will still look like a woman who’s had three babies, and I always will,” she tells Fletcher.
“There are some incredible women whose bodies just, no matter how many babies they have, they bounce right back to that slim-hipped, no stomach,” she continues. “It’s incredible. I have so many girlfriends who have that physique, and I’m so happy for them. I am not one of them. That is not my gig.” (And, no, she doesn’t feel bad about it either.)
This isn’t the first time Garner has addressed her post-baby body. In a 2014 interview with Ellen Degeneris, she responded to the pressure in Hollywood to look a certain way after giving birth, as well as the endless tabloid rumors that she is expecting.
“I am not pregnant. But I’ve had three kids, and there is a ‘bump.’ From now on, ladies, I will have a ‘bump,’ and it will be my ‘baby bump,’ and let’s just all settle in and get used to it. It’s not going anywhere,” she told the studio audience.
Garner, who shares three kids with her ex-husband Ben Afflect, is considered one of the most relatable moms in Hollywood. From her “running late and just threw this on” style to her honest takes on the realities of parenting, fans love to see the 48-year-old star doing things no different than what non-famous moms do on the daily.
And those are the moments she is focused on, too. “I’m starting to get to the point where I realize this job is not going to be forever,” Garner told People in 2019. “Not in the all-encompassing every meal, every moment, every day way that I have loved for the last thirteen years. It’s going to shift. But there’s beauty in how it works in episodes.”
There is so much beauty in motherhood, and Garner is here to remind you to be proud of what your body has accomplished. Listen to the full Happy Mum Happy Baby podcast to hear more from Jennifer Garner and learn all about her new film Yes Day, which is available to stream on Netflix beginning March 12.