Jennifer Garner Reunites With Ex Michael Vartan in Rare Selfie

Jennifer Garner has reunited with her former boyfriend and Alias co-star Michael Vartan, sharing a rare selfie together as she marked the 25th anniversary of the television series that became a defining part of her early career.

Garner, 54, included the recent photo with Vartan, 57, in an Instagram video posted on September 30 celebrating Alias. The actress is seen wearing a black long-sleeved top and wrapping one arm around Vartan, who appears beside her in a chambray button-down shirt, glasses and a New York Mets baseball cap. The pair smile at the camera.

Photo: Instagram/@jennifer.garner

The photograph was part of a larger collection of recent and archival images celebrating the series and its cast. Garner also shared photos with Victor Garber, Ron Rifkin and Merrin Dungey, as well as series creator and director J.J. Abrams.

Garner starred as Sydney Bristow, a CIA operative at the centre of Alias, which premiered on ABC in 2001 and ran for five seasons until 2006. Vartan played Michael Vaughn, Sydney’s colleague and love interest. Their characters’ relationship became one of the show’s central storylines, while the actors developed a relationship away from the set.

Garner and Vartan briefly dated in 2003 and split in 2004. Garner’s representative confirmed their relationship to Us Weekly in August 2003, describing them at the time as friends who had recently started dating.

Their relationship ended while Alias was still on air, but the two continued working together on the series and remained on friendly terms. Vartan later described their breakup as “benign” in a 2005 interview with USA Today, explaining that he and Garner had been best friends before, during and after their relationship.

More than a decade later, Vartan was asked in 2018 whether he thought there was any possibility of the two getting back together. He dismissed the idea, saying that if their relationship had not worked the first time, there was a reason for it.

Garner has nevertheless continued to acknowledge Vartan publicly over the years. In 2018, she shared a throwback image of the actor from Alias to mark his 50th birthday. She also posted another birthday tribute for him in 2023, further reflecting the friendship that continued after their relationship ended.

Photo: Getty Images

The latest reunion came as Garner looked back on the impact of Alias 25 years after the series began. In the voice-over accompanying her anniversary video, she described the cast and crew as having been her “whole world” and reflected on the bond that remained after the show’s conclusion.

Garner also spoke about how different Sydney Bristow was from the roles she had taken on before the series. She recalled that people had not previously considered her for action or a tough character, and said playing Sydney changed her as a person. She added that she remained proud to have been part of the series.

The anniversary post therefore brought together more than a nostalgic look at a television series. Alongside the archival footage, Garner’s recent photographs with former cast members offered a glimpse at the relationships that have continued beyond the show’s five-season run.

For Vartan, the reunion also marks a rare public appearance in recent years. He has largely remained outside the Hollywood spotlight, with his most recent film role coming in the 2017 independent thriller Small Town Crime. He subsequently appeared as a guest on the CBS comedy God Friended Me in 2018.

Garner’s personal life has taken a different path since her relationship with Vartan. She later began dating Ben Affleck, whom she married in 2005. The former couple, who share three children, separated in 2015. Garner has since been in a relationship with businessman John Miller. Vartan was married to Lauren Skaar from 2011 until 2014.

The new photograph does not suggest a romantic reconciliation between Garner and Vartan. Instead, it documents two former partners reconnecting in connection with a series that remains significant to both of their careers. Twenty-five years after Alias first premiered, their reunion places the focus back on the show, its cast and the relationships that have lasted beyond the final episode.