Here’s the debrief on where Jennifer Garner stands with her ex Michael Vartan.
The Alias alum shared a photo from her sweet reunion with Vartan—whom she dated briefly in 2003 between her marriages to exes Scott Foleyand Ben Affleck—in a video montage marking their TV show’s 25th anniversary.
In the selfie posted on Instagram Sept. 30, Garner, 54, was shown wearing a black pullover as she wrapped one arm around the 57-year-old, who donned a chambray button-down, New York Mets baseball cap and glasses.
“They were my whole world, the cast and crew, and they still are,” the actress said in the video’s voiceover. “All these years later, we’ve been together. We’re a little band that’s gone together for the past 25 years.”
Indeed, Garner remained close with her former castmates from the spy thriller—which ran for five seasons from 2001 to 2006—through the years. Her video also included smiling selfies withVictor Garber, Ron Rifkin, Merrin Dungey and directorJ.J. Abrams, who created the series.
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Alias‘ Michael Vartan Looks Unrecognizable in New Photo 8 Years After Leaving Hollywood
“Alias was so far outside of anything I had done,” Garner shared in her voiceover. “No one had thought of me for action. No one had thought of me for a tough role.”
Reflecting on her role, Garner—now mom to kidsViolet, 20, Seraphina, 17, and Samuel, 12, with Affleck—said playing CIA spy Sydney Bristow “changed me as a person.”
“I walked differently after I played Sydney,” she added. “It’s something I’m so proud to be a part of.”
As for Vartan, he’s stepped away from the Hollywood spotlight in recent years. The actor last appeared on the silver screen in 2017, playing a detective in the independent thriller Small Town Crime before guest-starring on a 2018 episode of the CBS comedy God Friended Me.
“For the first part of my career, I’ve really been an insecure actor. I’ve really struggled to find ways to be good,” Vartan told Entertainment Tonight in 2017. “As I get older, it’s not that I care less, but I really do. I care less about what people think about me. I care less about what I look like. I care less about things that, at the end of the day, are ultimately unimportant.”
But Garner and Vartan aren’t the only stars who’ve stayed in touch after breakup. Keep reading for more celeb friendly exes.
Jeff Vespa/WireImageJennifer Aniston & Brad PittNo, they are never, ever, ever getting back together. But at this point—between the birthday parties, the friendly embraces and even freaking acting out a sexual fantasy in a star-studded virtual reading of Fast Times at Ridgemont High—it feels like the former Hollywood golden couple is just taunting us. Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for DisneySarah Silverman & Jimmy KimmelYou know you’re cool when you can pop into your ex’s talk show and give him a hard time. Such was the case when Silverman turned up on Kimmel’s stage in 2018 to chat about her show I Love You, America and his “cute,” “bright,” “funny” wife Molly McNearney. “It’s not fair!” the actress cracked. “She gets, like, new woke Jimmy. I had Man Show Jimmy.”Samir Hussein/WireImageChris Pratt & Anna FarisTBH, we might still be mourning this relationship harder than either of its participants. Because when Faris—now married to cinematographer Michael Barrett—heard that Pratt was set to wed Katherine Schwarzenegger in 2019, she offered to officiate. She even sent over a gift after the newlyweds welcomed daughter Lyla in August 2020. Thrilled for son Jack to become a big brother, a source told E! News at the time that Faris “is very supportive.” Richard Shotwell/Invision/APTarek El Moussa & Christina HallIt would have been super easy for the exes’ relationship to become a flop. But more than four years after a messy split, the HGTV stars are still killing it at two projects: parenting kids Taylor and Brayden and turning run-down properties into someone else’s dream home.Alexandra Wyman/WireImageLisa Bonet & Lenny KravitzLiterally “best friends” as the rocker put it in a 2013 interview with Oprah Winfrey, the parents to actress Zoe Kravitz still consider themselves kin. “We’re one big happy family,” Lenny said of his ex, who went on to wed Jason Momoa before their 2020 split. “It’s beautiful, and it just shows you what can be done.”Broadimage/ShutterstockJulianne Hough & Brooks LaichAfter the Dancing With the Stars co-host and former hockey player called in quits in 2020, the pair have continually proved they are on good terms.
In 2025, Hough enjoyed a trip to the lake with Laich and his then-pregnant fiancée Katrín Tanja Davíðsdóttir.
And when Laich announced his marriage to the former Crossfit athlete in 2025, Hough celebrated the news, writing on Instagram, “Congratulations! So so happy for you both. Sending you all the love, health and happiness for the years to come to you and your beautiful family.”
Jeff Vespa/VF14/WireImageBen Affleck & Jennifer GarnerSince their 2015 breakup, the parents to Violet, Seraphina and Samuel have hit the conscious uncoupling trifecta: Joint vacations, shared holidays and public displays of admiration with Ben dubbing his ex “an amazing mother” during a 2016 interview with E! News. Albert L. Ortega/WireImageJennifer Garner & Michael VartanAffleck isn’t the only one of Garner’s exes who she’s stayed close with after breakup. She’s also friends with her former Alias costar, who she briefly dated in 2003 before her marriage to Affleck.
“I can’t remember why I was Bavarian, but I do know today is your birthday,” Garner wrote on Instagram in 2023 along a still from Alias, in which she was dressed in a dirndl. “I hope it’s a great one, Michael! XX.”
InstagramNina Dobrev & Ian SomerhalderThe Vampire Diaries costars may have called it quits in 2013 after three years of dating, but they’ve remained close friends since then. In 2014, somerhalder started dating Nikki Reed and tied the knot later that year. Naturally, Dobrev befriended the Twilight actress.Fred Hayes/Getty Images for Operation SmileLady Gaga & Taylor KinneyThe two called it quits in July 2016 after five years together. The singer said on SiriusXM’s The Howard Stern Show the following October that she’s “very close” to Kinney, adding, “He’s been my lover and a friend for so long.”
“We love each other,” she said. “That’s it.”Beth Dubber/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty ImagesMindy Kaling & B.J. NovakThe Office’s on-and-off pairing remained so tantalizingly close after the series wrapped in 2013 that even Kaling gets why people are still shipping them. “If I was on the outside looking at it, I would think the same thing,” she told Good Housekeeping in 2019 of naming him godparent to her kids. “But the truth is that B.J. is so much more like family now than a platonic friend.”Jesse Grant/ Getty ImagesAshlee Simpson & Pete WentzThe exes had no trouble coparenting their son Bronx after finalizing their divorce back in 2011. The Fall Out Boy bassist has even said his former wife is “an awesome mom.”Jamie McCarthy, John Parra/Getty ImagesMiley Cyrus & Nick JonasSo she’s over those “7 Things” then? The Jonas Brothers musician has said he’s “really friendly” with the “Wrecking Ball” singer. “We’ve got a good relationship.”Picture Perfect/ShutterstockMichael C. Hall & Jennifer CarpenterThe Dexter stars first met on set in 2006 before things got romantic in 2008. And though they divorced in 2011, Carpenter assured there was “nothing but love and respect” between the exes a few years later. Joe Corrigan/Getty ImagesBruce Willis & Demi MooreLong the gold standard of copacetic exes, the parents to daughters Rumer, Tallulah and Scout remain so tight that the decision to ride out coronavirus stay-at-home orders together in Idaho was a no-brainer. Quarantine dance party anyone?Ethan Miller/Getty ImagesJennifer Lopez & Marc AnthonySome four years after their 2014 divorce, Lopez was still giving her former spouse—dad to her twins Max and Emme—props. “While I was married to Marc, he really helped me with my confidence and he saw where I suffered,” she said on a 2018 episode of Sunday Today. “He was like, ‘You’re a great singer. Don’t ever let anybody tell you you’re not a great singer.’ And I respected him so much ’cause I consider him one of the best singers of all time.”John Shearer/WireImageCourteney Cox & David ArquetteEven if it hasn’t been his day, his week, his month or even his year, the actress will be there for her former husband and Scream costar. “I mean, as divorces go, I would say it’s one of the better ones. For sure,” she shared on Running Wild With Bear Grylls eight years after their 2010 split. Raising daughter Coco, she continued, “We’re good co-parents together.”Jason Kempin/Getty ImagesCameron Diaz & Justin TimberlakeTheir real-life romance may had fizzled in 2007, but that didn’t mean the two couldn’t heat up the screen in the 2011 movie Bad Teacher.Kevin Winter/Getty ImagesPeter Facinelli & Jennie GarthSure, the initial few months of their 2013 split were rough going, but the two have now reached the group vacation stage of their divorce. “I really like her husband and I think he’s a great guy,” the Twilight alum told LaPalme Magazine of a 2017 trip to Cancun that included Garth, Dave Abrams, Peter’s now-fiancée Lily Anne Harrison and their three daughters Luca, Lola and Fiona.
As for his relationship with Garth, he continued, “People come into your life for a reason and relationships can change,” he told LaPalme. “Just because we aren’t living together doesn’t mean you can’t love each other.”Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty ImagesWill Arnett & Amy PoehlerDespite a surprise separation in September 2012, the Blades of Glory costars decided to put on a united front for their children. “As you know, Will and I are very, very good friends,” Poehler explained during a 2014 interview with Howard Stern. “We are doing a really good job. I don’t think a 10-year marriage constitutes a failure. I think relationships are really tough.”Image Press Agency/NurPhoto/ShutterstockMaren Morris & Ryan HurdThe Grammy winner and songwriter ex—who finalized their divorce in January 2024—have remained on good terms as they continue to parent their son Hayes. In fact, the pair live just five minutes apart from one another, which makes co-parenting a breeze.
“Our stops are really easy,” Morris told The Zoe Report in May 2025, “and we’ll have family dinners.”For the latest breaking news updates, click here to download the E! News App
