After 25 years of being chased by the paparazzi, Jennifer Garner says the lines between pursuer and protector became unexpectedly blurred.
And one paparazzi became someone she strangely trusted.
“I have two every day who’ve been assigned to me for 20 plus years, 25 years,” Garner said. “I have a very interesting relationship with my main guy.”
Over the years, Garner has begged him to leave her alone and called the police on him countless times.
Yet she still ended up relying on him during one terrifying moment.
Garner recalled being followed by a stranger she believed was about to hurt her. Instead of running away from the paparazzi, she ran straight toward one.
“I ran to him because I knew him and trusted him. I knew that he and I would be okay.” She said, describing the bond as “kind of a Stockholm Syndrome kind of thing.”
Despite that unexpected moment of safety, Garner didn’t sugar-coat the damage years of relentless attention caused. Particularly for her three children with ex-husband Ben Affleck.
Photographers swarmed the family’s children’s soccer games so aggressively that the association asked Garner and Affleck to stop attending.
Everyday moments became just as chaotic. Garner said photographers blocked the entrance to doctor’s appointments, crowded schools, and even knocked children over while scrambling to photograph her family.
“If you show up and you’re trying to get into the pediatrician and you have a sick kid on your shoulder… and you can’t get into the door because you’re blocked by photographers. There’s something wrong with that,” she said.
Garner’s story paints a strange portrait of what happens when someone you’ve spent years trying to escape becomes the person you instinctively run to.
