Ben Affleck spoke out to correct the record after reports surfaced he said he felt “trapped” in his marriage to ex-Jennifer Garner and blamed her for his “alcoholism.”
“I had gone on and said how much we respect each other and cared about each other and cared about our kids and put them first and went through our stuff,” the 49-year-old actor explained during his appearance on the “Jimmy Kimmel Live” show. The comments were noted by E! News in a piece published Thursday.
Affleck said he felt really good about the interview until he went on social media and said one of these websites did the “click bait” thing. The superstar actor said the article said he “blamed” his ex-wife for his “alcoholism.”
“And that I was trapped in this marriage,” he added. “Just made me out to be like the worst, most insensitive, stupid, awful guy.” (RELATED: REPORT: Alex Rodriguez Is ‘Shocked’ That Jennifer Lopez Has ‘Moved On’ With Ben Affleck)
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“That’s not true,” Affleck continued. “I don’t believe that. It’s the exact opposite of who I am, what I believe and I would never want my kids to think I would ever say a bad word about their mom…it hurts my feelings.” (RELATED: Ben Affleck Opens Up About How His Alcoholism Almost Ruined His Family)
During his appearance on Sirius XM “The Howard Stern Show,” the “Justice League” star said “probably still would’ve been drinking” if they were still married, Page Six reported Tuesday.
“Part of why I started drinking was because I was trapped,” he said. “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.”
“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. “Everything you read [in the news about the divorce] was bulls–t. The truth was we took our time, we made our decision … We grew apart.”
The “Gone Girl” star said Garner is someone he loves and respects, but that they had “a marriage that didn’t work” and shouldn’t be “married any longer.”
At one point, “The Last Duel” star talked about his path to sobriety and said the cure to “addiction is suffering” and that it’s after a person suffers enough “that something inside you” says it’s done.
Since the Stern interview came out, people close to Garner have reportedly spoken out and are not happy with what he said, Page Six reported Thursday.
“It’s disgusting,” one insider who reportedly knows both Affleck and Garner shared. “Jen has been the only one picking him up time and time again when he’s done horrible things — fallen off the wagon or worse.”
“Jen stood by him because she loves him,” the source added. “This is the mother of his children.”
Another insider reportedly told the outlet, “Anyone who knows addict behavior knows how untrue those comments could be for any addict, but particularly Ben. It’s one of the first tenets of AA not to place blame for your disease.”
Ben has recently been linked romantically with his former fiancée, actress Jennifer Lopez. Affleck was married to Garner from 2005-2018 and share three kids together. He and Lopez were engaged in the early 2000s before reports surfaced that they were back together in April 2021.