• After weeks of public speculation about their relationship, Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner announced Tuesday that they plan to end their 10-year marriage. "We go forward with love and friendship for one another and a commitment to co-parenting our children," Garner and Affleck said in a joint statement. "This will be our only comment on this private, family matter." Affleck will continue to live on the couple's property in a separate house, and they will co-parent their children Violet, Seraphina and Samuel, according to a person familiar with the situation who was not authorized to speak publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity. The two also are planning to go to a mediator to settle their divorce, the person said. Just last fall, Garner and Affleck were praising each other's commitment to family, career and philanthropic causes. Affleck, 42, said he's grateful that Garner takes on the "lion's share" of their family responsibilities. "She's been really smart about choosing her projects," he said at a November gala. "They're not so time-consuming that she can't do this work and be there for our kids, which is the most important thing to her." Garner, 43, said at the same event that she and Affleck were selective about the causes they support. "We don't scatter our energy around," she said. Garner was previously married to actor Scott Foley. Affleck was previously engaged to Jennifer Lopez.
• Donna Karan will step down from daily duties as chief designer at her namesake company, Donna Karan International, to devote more time to her philanthropic foundation. She'll remain a close adviser, according to a company statement released Tuesday. Karan, 66, co-founded the company in 1984. It went public in 1996. And in 2001, LVMH Moet Hennessey Louis Vuitton invested and helped it grow globally. It now sells apparel, sportswear, accessories and shoes under the Donna Karan New York and DKNY brands. The company said it will not immediately seek to replace Karan as designer, suspending runway shows and collections for a "period of time." Reaction was swift as insiders lauded Karan as a visionary, with the Council of Fashion Designers of America tweeting: "The end of an era! Donna Karan departs DKI."
A Section on 07/02/2015