[CULTURE AND ENTERTAINMENT ★]
JENNIFER GARNER TALKS ABOUT HER SPLIT WITH BEN AFFLECK
(P1) If you care about Hollywood and CELEBRITIES at all, then you probably felt a little HEARTACHE over the news that Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck split after 10 years of marriage.
(P2) There were BREAK-UP rumors about the couple for months before they actually announced their SEPARATION in June of last year, and were hit with even more gossip with rumors about Affleck’s involvement with their children’s NANNY.
(P3) Now, Garner is breaking her silence on their split for the first time in an UNFLINCHING personal INTERVIEW with Vanity Fair, and there are a few things she wants to make clear.
(P4) Their love was the REAL DEAL
(P5) “It was a real marriage,” Garner told the magazine. “It wasn’t for the cameras. And it was a huge PRIORITY for me to stay in it. And that did not work.”
(P6) Affleck was the love of her life
(P7) “I didn’t marry the movie star; I married him,” the 43-year-old said. “And I would go back and remake that decision. He’s the love of my life. What am I going to do about that?”
(P8) But love is difficult
(P9) “He’s the most BRILLIANT person in any room, the most CHARISMATIC, the most generous. He’s just a COMPLICATED guy. I always say, ‘When his sun shines on you, you feel it.’ But when the sun is shining elsewhere, it’s cold. He can cast quite a shadow.”
(P10) You can’t BLAME the nanny for their split
(P11) “Let me just tell you something. We had been separated for months before I ever heard about the nanny. She had nothing to do with our decision to divorce. She was not a part of the situation for me.”
(P12) She knows you want them to get back together
(P13) “When Jennifer Aniston and Brad Pitt broke up, I was dying for them to get back together.”
(P14) Even she laughed at Golden Globes host Ricky Gervais’ joke that Matt Damon was the only person Affleck hasn’t been UNFAITHFUL to.
(P15) “I laughed. People have pain. No one needs to hate him for me. I don’t hate him. Certainly we don’t have to beat the guy up. Don’t worry — my eyes were wide open during the marriage. I’m taking good care of myself.”
WORDS: 373
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
If you found the passage difficult to read or had problems understanding specific words or idiomatic expressions, please discuss them with your tutor. The following discussion questions should be answered in your own words and with your own arguments.
- Briefly summarize the content of the article in your own words.
- Do you follow Hollywood celebrities, or do you not care very much about them?
- Why is it so difficult for Hollywood couples to make their marriages work?
- Would you like to be famous, or would the lack of privacy bother you?
- Who is the most charismatic person you have ever known?
EXPRESSIONS TO PRACTICE:
What do the following expressions mean? Practice using each expression in a sentence; extra points if you can use it in conversation.
- Break-up
- Real deal
