Inside Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck's New Reality: Family, Sacrifice, Determination & a Love That Hasn't Died Even After Divorce

Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck's divorce continues to be more amicable than half the marriages in Hollywood.

In what has proved to be a most resilient display of co-parenting after a separation that was not untouched by scandal, the actors have settled into their new normal with inspired determination to make life as undramatic as possible for their three children, Violet, 11, Seraphina, 8, and Samuel, 5.

And, as Affleck himself has acknowledged, that wouldn't be possible if Garner wasn't up for it.

She'd have every reason not to be, the demise of a 10-year marriage certainly giving her license to grieve any way she wanted. But she has chosen relentless optimism.

"It's been a hard few months but you would never know," a source tells E! News. "Jen always has her head up high and a smile on her face. She does a great job of keeping it together for the kids."

Since the kids are so young, that should be Mom and Dad's primary job, keeping it together for them—and even when Affleck was dodging the dodgier rumors about his behavior while still a married man, he never missed a minute of time that could be spent near his son and daughters, flying back and forth across the country and living in guest houses so he could be around for breakfast, nightly tuck-ins and drives to school.

So it's no wonder that Affleck and Garner's separation, not particularly surprising after the Oscar winner publicly thanked his wife for being willing to work on their marriage (the public pronouncements, either on stages or in interviews, are never a good sign), quickly became the shining example of what Hollywood co-parenting could look like if both parents really went for it.

Their happy-looking dynamic, from the family of five's trip to the Bahamas to wait out the split announcement to more recent sightings of casual dinners for two and Affleck's endless spoken appreciation for Garner as a mom, partner and tireless supporter of his career ambitions, ultimately served to lull their fans into a blissful post-split stupor—one they were jolted out of when Garner finally filed for divorce in April.

After spending months in counseling before deciding to separate, they may have tried here and there to see if they could do full-on marriage again, but ultimately it wasn't an option. And so they press forward.