Ben Affleck has said he felt ‘trapped’ in his marriage to Jennifer Garner and believes he would not have got sober if he had stayed in the relationship.
The Good Will Hunting star made the comment Tuesday during an interview on The Howard Stern Show where he also admitted to having hesitation over rekindling his relationship with ex-fiancée Jennifer Lopez.
Talking about his marriage to Garner, the 49-year-old told Howard: ‘We probably would’ve ended up at each other’s throats. I probably still would’ve been drinking.’
Ben went to rehab for alcoholism in 2018. He officially split with his ex-wife in June 2015, one day after their 10-year anniversary.
‘Part of why I started drinking was because I was trapped,’ he went on. ‘I was like, “I can’t leave because of my kids, but I’m not happy, what do I do?” And what I did was [I] drank a bottle of scotch and fell asleep on the couch, which turned out not to be the solution.’
Tough: Ben Affleck says he felt ‘trapped’ in marriage to Jennifer Garner and would ‘still be drinking’ if they were together (Pictured 2013)
‘Ultimately, we tried, we tried, we tried because we had kids, but both of us felt like we didn’t want this to be the model that our kids see of marriage,’ he added.
Since then, Ben has rekindled his romance with Jennifer Lopez, 52, with whom he was previously engaged to before they broke it off in January 2004.
Famously dubbed ‘Bennifer’ both Ben and Jen understandably cause quite the stir when they are together, but the actor confessed he thought twice about the romance due to the affect it could have on his children.
Asked if he had doubts about going there again with J-Lo, Ben told Howard: ‘It crossed my mind for sure. My responsibility to my children is the highest responsibility. I don’t want to do anything that is painful or destructive to them if I can help it.’
Rekindled: Ben Affleck has admitted that he hesitated over getting back with ex-fiancée Jennifer Lopez, due to all the intense interest there is in the celebrity couple
Ben further explained how being in a celebrity couple with ex-wife Garner, can affect their three children, Violet, 16, Seraphina, 12, and Samuel, nine, who live life under the spotlight as well.
‘My life affects them. Me and their mom are celebrities. That is hard. That is a cross to bear,’ he told the radio host.
Adding about the breakdown of his marriage, he said: ‘The truth was we took our time, we made the decision, we grew apart.’
‘We had a marriage that didn’t work. We tried because we had kids. We did not want it to be the model of marriage for the kids. We did our best. I knew she was a good mom, and I hoped she knew I was a good dad. I had to get sober, and I acknowledge that.’
The Paycheck star admitted that his ‘rock bottom’ moment in his alcoholism battle, was when he saw how his children looked at him.
‘The cure for addiction is suffering,’ he said. ‘You suffer enough before something inside you goes, “That’s enough.”‘
The actor has previously been open about his struggle with alcohol addiction.
‘It was my kids. Since that day, I swear to Christ, I have not wanted to drink once. I am not cured. I am not a preacher, but there is a happy ending if you can get there.’
Ben started dating J-Lo again in April after she split from her fiance Alex Rodriguez.
He had most recently been linked with No Time to Die star Ana de Armas.
Back on: Ben started dating J-Lo again in April after she split from her fiance Alex Rodriguez (pictured this month)
Following his comments, Ben faced a backlash on social media for ‘blaming’ ex-wife Jennifer for his past alcoholism.
‘You blame your ex wife for drinking? You were a drunk before you married her!’ tweeted out one impassioned Twitter user, with several others demanding him to take ‘responsibility’ for his own actions.
They continued: ‘Speaking poorly about the mother of your children pretty much makes to [sic] a terrible father and a total d***head!’
Too honest? Following his comments, Ben faced a backlash on social media for ‘blaming’ ex-wife Jennifer for his past alcoholism (pictured in 2014)
Mirroring earlier tweets, another disgruntled fan wrote: ‘@BenAffleck sounds like your blaming your ex-wife for your drinking! Scumbag!’
‘You’re a d***head. Even if that’s the case about unhappiness in your marriage why would you drag your ex through the mud publicly and seemingly blame that situation for your own self destructive choices,’ read one tweet, with another simply stating: ‘Ben Affleck confirms… he is still the worst.’
Though Ben felt comfortable enough to speak candidly about his alcoholism, many found the remarks aimed at Jennifer and their marriage to be in poor taste.
‘#BenAffleck is unlikeable. Don’t blame your ex-wife for your issues,’ read one aggressive tweet, while another angered fan deemed the statement a ‘cheap shot.’
Disapproval: ‘You blame your ex wife for drinking? You were a drunk before you married her!’ tweeted out one impassioned Twitter user, with several others demanding him to take ‘responsibility’ for his own actions
Blame game: Mirroring earlier tweets, another disgruntled fan wrote: ‘@BenAffleck sounds like your blaming your ex-wife for your drinking! Scumbag!’
Ruthless: In wake of his Howard Stern comments, social media was quick to brand him a variety of explicit names, as well as to scold him for seemingly putting Garner on blast so publicly
Cheap shot: ‘Cheap shot saying you were trapped in a marriage and it caused you to drink. Way to take some responsibilities for your part’ read one tweet
Yikes: One Twitter user went as far as to call the Tender Bar actor an ‘A**HOLE with NO CLASS’ and hoped that his three children will ‘stop speaking to you for good because you truly aren’t good enough for them.
Over it: One fan of Affleck’s was seemingly annoyed with the fact he brought up his ex-wife in the interview
‘Cheap shot saying you were trapped in a marriage and it caused you to drink. Way to take some responsibilities for your part.’
One Twitter user went as far as to call the Tender Bar actor an ‘A**HOLE with NO CLASS’ and hoped that his three children will ‘stop speaking to you for good because you truly aren’t good enough for them.’
Being that Affleck is ‘an alcoholic recovering or otherwise,’ one fan found it unsettling that he is seemingly ‘blaming others for his issues.’
They continued: ‘Therapy would have better served him than a bartender. I’m sure he’s just lovely to live with also. Horrible to say about the mother of his kids publicly even if she is difficult.’
Another wrote: ‘how was it possible for him to still feel trapped after the divorce since he had Jennifer Garner drive him to rehab? @BenAffleck is lower than pond scum. Real pathetic excuse of a human.’
Unlikeable: ‘#BenAffleck is unlikeable. Don’t blame your ex-wife for your issues,’ read one aggressive tweet, while another angered fan deemed the statement a ‘cheap shot.
No holding back: ‘You’re a d***head. Even if that’s the case about unhappiness in your marriage why would you drag your ex through the mud publicly and seemingly blame that situation for your own self destructive choices,’ read one tweet, with another simply stating: ‘Ben Affleck confirms… he is still the worst’
Being that Affleck is ‘an alcoholic recovering or otherwise,’ one fan found it unsettling that he is seemingly ‘blaming others for his issues’
Harsh: Many of the reactive tweets featured screengrabs of other outlets covering Ben’s remarks about Jennifer
Confused: ‘how was it possible for him to still feel trapped after the divorce since he had Jennifer Garner drive him to rehab? @BenAffleck is lower than pond scum. Real pathetic excuse of a human’ read another impassioned tweet