Jennifer Garner Praises Reese Witherspoon for Helping Her During a “Very Public, Very Hard Moment” in Her Life

Reese Witherspoon vulnerably got emotional at an event her media company, Hello Sunshine, hosted in Los Angeles yesterday, telling the audience assembled that, during a difficult period in her life about a year ago, she realized that she was “the glue in everybody’s life, whether it’s work or being a mom or being a partner, but who is holding you together, you know?” She added “We hold up so much for so many.”

In addition to the many roles Witherspoon holds—mom, actress, producer, philanthropist, founder, for starters—Witherspoon is also a fantastic friend, as fellow actress Jennifer Garner shared at the “Shine Away” event yesterday, detailing how Witherspoon helped her during a dark chapter in her life.

“I think back to going through a very public, very hard moment in my life,” Garner told Witherspoon at yesterday’s event. “This one was right there.”

And, in addition to emotional support, Witherspoon also encouraged another form of healing—dance. “The way I needed to get through it was to dance cardio,” Garner said, per E! News. “And I dance cardio-ed so hard, we broke her foot—but she kept going.” To this, Witherspoon added “Just keep dancing, ladies. Just keep dancing.” 

Even a broken foot didn’t stop this pair. “It was like, ‘Okay, we worked out at 7, on vacation,’” Garner said. “'We’re going to work out again at 2.' She’s like, ‘Okay, uh huh, I’m going to be there. I’m going to be there.’”

Though neither Garner nor Witherspoon shared when this happened or what Garner was facing exactly, E! News reports that Witherspoon previously twisted her foot in 2011, which could mean something, or it could mean nothing. In 2015, Garner went through what she herself described as a challenging time in her life when she split from her husband, Ben Affleck, who is also the father of her three children.

“Going through it in public is not what’s hard, going through it is what’s hard, A,” she told The Hollywood Reporter in 2021. “And B, my children’s eyes are on me.” 

Garner is an unflinchingly positive person, though, and of herself, she said “I’ve learned that I’m pretty sturdy,” she told People in 2021. “I’m okay when I’m in the house by myself. I’m okay when it’s just the kids and me. I’m okay when they fall apart. I mean, I have my moments, but pretty much, I’m really okay.”