Ben Affleck
Marriage to Jennifer Garner brought him to alcohol
Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner were married from 2005 to 2018.
© imago / Future Image
Ben Affleck has spoken openly about his marriage to Jennifer Garner. He felt “trapped”, which made him drink.
Once again, US actor Ben Affleck (49) spoke openly about his marriage to colleague Jennifer Garner (49) and his alcohol addiction. The actor couple was married from 2005 to 2018, the two had separated already in 2015. Affleck felt “trapped” in his marriage, he said on “The Howard Stern Show”. This was one of the reasons why he started drinking.
The two of them have repeatedly struggled because of their three children Violet, Seraphina and Samuel. “I thought, ‘I can’t go because of my kids, but I’m unhappy, what should I do?'” Says the actor. “What I did was drink a bottle of scotch and fall asleep on the couch, which didn’t work out.” Eventually, he and Garner would have realized that their relationship should not be “the model our children see as marriage”.
He sought help against alcohol addiction because of his children
Their separation was not as dramatic as it was portrayed in the media at the time. “We had a marriage that didn’t work. It happened,” said Affleck. Jennifer Garner is “someone I love and respect, but who I should no longer be married to”.
They would have made the decision “amicably”. “We did our best,” emphasized the 49-year-old. “Were there moments of tension? Were there disagreements over custody? Was it difficult for us? Yes, but we respected each other in everything.”
He knew that Garner was a “good mother” – and hoped that she would think the same of him in return. He only got help against his addiction “when I had the feeling that [meine Kinder] were affected “.
Ben Affleck would “still drink” if he was still with Jennifer Garner
“The cure for addiction is suffering,” Affleck explains. “I’m lucky because I got to that point before I lost the most important things. Not my career or my money – it was my relationship with my kids.” If he were still with Garner, he would “probably still be drinking”. In the meantime he is “not cured”, but he can keep his hands off the alcohol.
After his marriage to Jennifer Garner, Ben Affleck had a relationship with the American film producer Lindsay Shookus (41) until 2019. He was then in a relationship with actress Ana de Armas (33) from 2020 to early 2021. Since the summer he has been happy again with Jennifer Lopez (52) – with whom he was together from 2002 to 2004.