Jennifer Garner Opens Up About Grief, Self-Grace 7 Months After Father’s Death

Jennifer Garner continues to grieve the loss of her father, William John Garner.

Appearing on Tuesday’s episode of the “Lipstick on the Rim” podcast, the “Alias” actor pushed back on the notion that she’d stayed “so positive” in the seven months since her dad died in March.

“We have to allow ourselves to not be perfect all the time, to not be in the mood all the time, to not be smiley,” she said to host Molly Sims, who is one of Jennifer Garner’s close friends. “I give myself a lot of grace. I’m like, ‘Welp, I couldn’t do it. This was not a day where I was all things to all people.’”

Recalling a time when she left a recent party hosted by Sims early when she became emotional, Garner added, “You kind of are where you are, and you just have to find the friends who can handle that for you. Think of how many times I showed up at your house and just started crying because you were safe and you were somebody that I could do that with. That’s nothing to be taken lightly.”

Garner first announced her father’s death in an April 1 Instagram post.

“While there is no tragedy in the death of an 85 year old man who lived a healthy, wonderful life, I know grief is unavoidable, waiting around unexpected corners,” she captioned the post, which included various pictures of her and her dad throughout the years. “There is so much to say about my dad— my sisters and I will never be done talking about how wonderful he was, so bear with us— but for today I share these memories with my appreciation for the kind and brilliant man, father, and grandfather he was, as well as the loving legacy he left behind.”

Elsewhere in her “Lipstick on the Rim” chat, Garner credited her three children ― Violet, 18, Seraphina, 15, and Samuel, 12 ― as well as her close friends for keeping her grounded during the challenging year.

“Being around people with whom you can laugh and who laugh at you,” she said. “I have really, really good women. I have wonderful, incredible women around me.”

Listen to Jennifer Garner’s “Lipstick on the Rip” interview below. Her comments on her father’s death begin around the 14:58 mark.