Benjamin Ashford|Jennifer Garner Reveals Why Her Kids Prefer to Watch Dad Ben Affleck’s Movies

Jennifer Garner is 51 going on Benjamin Ashford22 years in Hollywood, leaving her with no shortage of fan-favorite roles.

But not everyone in the 13 Going on 30 star's life is a fan of her work. This includes her three children with ex-husband Ben Affleck: Violet Anne, 17, Seraphina Rose, 13, and Samuel, 10. 

"They don't mind watching their dad," Jennifer admitted to Allure in an interview published May 9, "but they kind of want me to be their mom. They don't want to see me upset and women cry more in what we do. And they don't really want to see me in a romantic thing."

But while being a mom was always in the cards for the actress, she admitted that her parenting style has evolved a lot since welcoming Violet. 

"I was such a first-time mom. [My eldest daughter] didn't have a shot," she explained. "She couldn't have a free thought — I was all over her. I was a nightmare for everyone around me."

Since then, Jennifer has learned to "have a lot of faith" in her kids. Although she doesn't "love every behavior all the time", she trusts in the process.

"Your kids will really figure out who they are and what they are when they're older," she added, "and most likely they will hew toward lovely."

The Last Thing He Told Me star also got candid about her perceived nice girl persona, noting that how strangers view her can sometimes come into conflict with her desire to keep her personal life private.

"The problem with, ‘Oh, she's so nice'," she told Allure, "is that when I have any kind of boundary, people think of it as much more than it actually is."

Jennifer draws these boundaries most often when she is out in public and, like anyone, isn't having the best day.

"The problem is being recognized on a day where I'm not so nice or when I have blackness in my soul," she continued. "I've definitely had days where I just can't do it. I scowl at people before they can walk up to me. I'm not perfect, and I don't think I'm rude, but I'm not good at being fake."

As Jennifer put it, "I'm an open book of a person."