Jennifer Garner reveals a problem with her beautiful image, why children don’t see her films

Speaking to the publication for a new cover story, the 51-year-old actress shared that being public makes it a little harder to have a bad day.

“The problem with ‘Oh, she’s so nice,’ is that if I have any kind of boundary, people think about it a lot more than it actually is,” Garner told the magazine. “The problem is being recognized on a day when I’m not so nice or when I have blackness in my soul. I’ve definitely had days where I just can’t.”

“I scowl at people before they can approach me,” she added. “I’m not perfect and I don’t think I’m rude, but I’m not good at being wrong. I am an open book of one person.”

Garner laid down ground rules for the interview, laying out what she would and wouldn’t talk about — telling the reporter that even that “is difficult for me because it doesn’t come naturally.” At the end of the interview, her “nice” image shone through again — when she told the reporter she was welcome to reach out to her if she needed parenting advice down the line, something that is not typical of a celebrity profile.

During the interview, Garner also spoke about the three children she shares with ex-husband Ben Affleck: Violet, 17, Seraphina, 14, and Samuel, 11. She said that while her children are fans of their father’s films, she is not I don’t really like watching her.

“They don’t mind looking after their dad, but they kind of want me to be their mom,” she explained. “They don’t want me to be upset and women to cry more about what we’re doing. And they don’t really want to see me in a romantic thing.”

Speaking more broadly about parenting, she added that she has “a lot of faith in my kids” as they grow older. “I don’t love every behavior all the time, all the time. It’s gnarly growing up,” she added.

And while anyone who reads her latest profile is clearly excited for celebrity news, Garner herself isn’t a fan — and has completely retired from it.

“I learned a while ago that I’m way too sensitive to what’s written about me and my family. The only things I have on my phone are the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal,” she said. “I can’t even have CNN. I used to love the Huffington Post,” she added, explaining that she can’t even enjoy them anymore because they also have celebrity coverage.

Read the full profile — in which she also exclaims, “I really love my solo life” — right here.