EXCLUSIVE: Jennifer Garner says she and Ben Affleck still live together in home where he cheated with their nanny - but the children's play area is abandoned, the pool and patio furniture covered and lush terracing turned to scrub

Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner's unconventional living arrangements have been the subject of much speculation over the last couple of weeks.

The couple, who split after the actor allegedly cheated with their children's nanny, are supposedly living together, although Ben has his own separate quarters. But, if that's the case, then why is their $17.5 million home in Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles -  as shown in exclusive photographs obtained by Daily Mail Online - looking so deserted?

The garden looks unattended and the play areas, which used to be full of toys, now has a rusting slide and soccer net. 

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Now: $17.5 million Pacific Palisades home of Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck is left unkempt. Usual lush green terracing and gardens are barren

Then: Before they split, Garner and Affleck's home looked well cared for. The estate has five bedrooms and eight bathrooms, while a huge second level below the garden houses an office, art studio, gym and two bathrooms. After the couple split last year extensive renovations began on the property

Deserted: The pool remains covered at the home of Garner and Affleck while the play area has a rusting slide and soccer net

Estate condition: While exclusive photos show Ben's separate living quarters are complete, the patio furniture is still covered as is the family's swimming pool

'Man Cave': Massive renovations began last summer after the couple announced their divorce. This area was to be separate living quarters for Affleck

Packed up: Patio area looks as if no one has used it and furniture on the deck is all still covered at the family home in Pacific Palisades

The patio area has been packed up and the garden furniture has all been covered. 

Meanwhile, the pool remains covered and the usually lush green terracing that surrounds the property - is now barren scrubland.

The exclusive pictures show the estate's huge renovation is now complete - including major reconstruction of their swimming pool area and Ben's new wing.

Ben was going to live in his 'man cave' while Jennifer and their three children - Violet, ten, Seraphina, seven, and Sam, four - lived in the main house.

The main house has five bedrooms and eight bathrooms, while a huge second level below the garden houses an office, art studio, gym and two bathrooms. 

There's also a guesthouse with two bedrooms, three bathrooms, an entertainment lounge and cinema.

Although the couple have kept  their exact living arrangements on the down-low since their split last summer, it's clear from these exclusive photos that they have spent very little time at the family home.

Sweater off his back: Jennifer was seen wearing Ben's grey sweater that he took off and gave her to wear while out with their three children last weekend

The once lush gardens and grass at the mansion of Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck looks to have been untouched for months despite the actress saying the two still lives there with their three children

According to a report in People Magazine, the pair tried living together, but the situation became too stressful, with a source saying: 'The kids love when Ben is home and that's why Jen let him stay at the family house. 

'She never wanted them to be disappointed that Ben wasn't there. But it was emotionally draining for her.'

However, the two have been putting on a united front while out and about with their children. Most recently, in Santa Monica over the weekend. 

They even shared clothing - Ben taking his grey sweater off of his back and giving it to Jennifer to wear.

Their ten-year marriage unraveled last year when reports came out that Ben was having an affair with the family nanny, 28-year-old Christine Ouzounian - something his camp adamantly denies.

In the aftermath, Jennifer, 43, rented out Brooke Shields's former home in Brentwood and 43-year-old Ben was staying at the exclusive Hotel Bel Air.

According to Variety Magazine, the estate was quietly put on the market for $45 million and that they even engaged the services of one of L.A.'s best broker's to find a buyer.

Media tycoon Rupert Murdoch's son Lachlan apparently viewed the place, but did not move forward with an offer.

A recent Vanity Fair article reported that Garner is 'staying put. For the time being.' Affleck has been staying in the three-acre estate's guesthouse, it said. 

In an interview with the magazine, Garner made a point of denying that his cheating was the reason for the split, but it had actually happened months before the press got wind of it.

Extensive renovations: Last summer, construction workers began building a 'man cave' for Ben Affleck and extensive renovations on the pool area

Closed: Swimming pool remains covered with no sign of being ready for use and patio furniture is also packed tightly away

Aftermath: It was said that Jennifer, 43, rented out Brooke Shields's former home in Brentwood and 43-year-old Ben was staying at the exclusive Hotel Bel Air shortly after their separation went public

'It was a real marriage. It wasn't for the cameras. And it was a huge priority for me to stay in it. And that did not work,' she told the magazine.

'Let me just tell you something. We had been separated for months before I ever heard about the nanny. She had nothing to do with our decision to divorce. She was not a part of the equation. 

'Bad judgment? Yes. It's not great for your kids for [a nanny] to disappear from their lives. I have had to have conversations about the meaning of 'scandal' [with the children].'

Despite their break-up, the couple have made sure the children haven't suffered and they even spent Christmas together at their favorite ski resort in Blue Sky, Montana, although sources say that they are definitely not an item.

In fact, friends of Jennifer told People that this is the happiest she's been in a long time, and she's ready to move on from Ben, adding: 'She seems much more relaxed and is enjoying life.'

But it looks like neither of them want to live in the once-happy family home.