Jennifer Garner proved there’s no bad blood between her and ex Michael Vartan.
The actress, 54, shared a rare glimpse of the pair reuniting via her Instagram on Wednesday, September 30.
In a post to mark the 25th anniversary of Alias, Garner could be seen cozying up to Vartan in a video montage. Garner portrayed the lead character, Sydney Bristow, on the ABC series, which ran from 2001 to 2006. Vartan played her love interest Michael Vaughn.
“They were my whole world, the cast and crew, and they still are,” Garner said in the voice-over for the post. “All these years later, we’ve been together. We’re a little band that’s gone together for the past 25 years.”
Alias’ director J.J. Abrams and Garner’s costars Victor Garber, Ron Rifkin and Merrin Dungey were also featured in the post.
Garner credited Alias for changing her life, explaining that Sydney was so different from the roles she usually played.
“Alias was so far outside of anything I had done,” she said. “No one had thought of me for action. No one had thought of me for a tough role.”
Garner and Vartan met while working on the spy drama and sparked up a romance when the cameras weren’t rolling.
In August 2003, Garner’s rep confirmed to Us that the costars were dating, but they ultimately split the following year. They remained friends and continued to play love interests until the show ended, though Vartan only appeared in seven episodes of the final season.
Speaking to USA Today in May 2005, Vartan described his split with Garner as “benign,” insisting there was no drama behind them calling it quits.
“Jennifer and I were best friends first, during [the romance] and after,” he told the outlet at the time.
When asked by E!’s Daily Pop more than a decade later whether there was ever a chance he and Garner would get back together, Vartan hosed down the suggestion.
“Oh, my God … I don’t think so. If it didn’t work once, there’s a reason it didn’t work,” he said in 2018.
The pair appear to have continued to stay on friendly terms over the years, with Garner paying tribute to Vartan in several birthday posts.
For Vartan’s 55th birthday in November 2023, Garner shared a throwback photo of the pair from their Alias days.
“I can’t remember why I was Bavarian, but I do know today is your birthday,” she wrote alongside it at the time. “I hope it’s a great one, Michael! XX S. Bristow.”
