Ben Affleck has been slammed by Jennifer Garner fans after his recent comments about their marriage.
Affleck said in an interview that being “trapped” in a marriage with Jennifer Garner led him to drinking.
And people are not happy about it…
Ben Affleck has had quite the experience when it comes to romance.
The actor and filmmaker has constantly been in and out of the headlines with his explosive love life.
I suppose that’s what happens when you’re Batman, right?
Let’s start from the beginning…
It all first began when Affleck began dating Gwyneth Paltrow.
The pair met at a dinner party thrown by the notorious Harvey Weinstein in 1997, and they started dating soon after Paltrow ended her engagement to Brad Pitt. Rebound of the century, right?
But, their relationship came to an end a couple of years later.
They apparently remain firm friends today, with Paltrow revealing in a 2015 interview with Howard Stern that she “likes him” and is “still friends with him.”
Shortly after things ended with Paltrow, Ben struck up another high-profile romance…
This time with the actress and singer, Jennifer Lopez.
The pair were together for 2 years and were even set to marry.
But one week before their wedding date, the couple postponed their wedding “due to the excessive media attention.” And, in early 2004, Lopez confirmed to the media that she had called off the engagement.
But then, along came a different Jennifer.
Just 9 months after his very public break-up with JLo, Ben and Jennifer Garner were seen out and about together at a Boston Red Sox World Series Game.
Affleck and Garner began dating in 2004 and just a year later they were married.
In 2005, the pair tied the knot in a private ceremony in Turks and Caicos.
The pair welcomed 3 children together during their relationship.
But sadly, after being together for over a decade, Ben and Jennifer separated in 2015 and finalized their divorce in 2017. Rumors of Ben’s infidelity were flying but, to this day, he profusely denied being unfaithful.
Though he denied any claims of infidelity, Affleck did admit to heavy drinking habits.
“I drank relatively normally for a long time. What happened was that I started drinking more and more when my marriage was falling apart. This was 2015, 2016. My drinking, of course, created more marital problems,” he explained to the New York Times.
“The biggest regret of my life is this divorce,” he continued.
“Shame is really toxic. There is no positive byproduct of shame. It’s just stewing in a toxic, hideous feeling of low self-worth and self-loathing.”
Affleck then dated Ana De Armas for a short while before calling it quits earlier this year.
And since then, Affleck has been dating someone that we all know very well.
Affleck and Jennifer Lopez are dating again.
While the pair have not shared much of their relationship, they seem to be absolutely smitten.
It’s safe to say that Affleck has had some pretty high-profile relationships.
And recently he has opened up about one of them…
In an appearance on The Howard Stern Show, Affleck spoke with Howard Stern about everything from his children to his new relationship.
He also touched on his drinking habits during his relationship and divorce from Jennifer Garner.
Speaking of their marriage, Affleck told Stern: “Part of why I started drinking was because I was trapped.”
From the comment, it seems that Affleck is partially blaming their marriage for him drinking again and people aren’t happy about it…
“When you can’t accept that your drinking problem is because of you, you still have a drinking problem,” one fan wrote…
“Jennifer Garner didn’t drive Ben Affleck to drink, she did however drive him to rehab probably saving his life.”
“Poor Ben. Trapped in a marriage to a goddess. So sad,” said another…
“Ben Affleck was an alcoholic who had done a stint in rehab before he ever met Jennifer Garner. His rewriting of history is crass and maybe delusional,” said another.
“So rude and disrespectful, nobody forced him to stay in a marriage if he wasn’t happy,” another Garner supporter wrote on Twitter.
“He’s basically blaming her who helped him and even took him to rehab… he should be grateful that that amazing woman is the mother of his children, c’mon man!”
Speaking with Stern about his divorce from Garner, Affleck said: “Part of why I started drinking was because I was trapped,” E! Online reports.
Affleck explained that he and Garner’s stayed together for as long as they did for their 3 children.
He said that he felt he couldn’t leave because of his kids but wasn’t happy.
“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,” he explained.
But, while Affleck marriage with Garner didn’t work, he still has “love and respect” for her.
“We had a marriage that didn’t work,” he said. “This happens. She’s somebody I love and respect, but to whom I shouldn’t be married any longer.”
Affleck added that they completed their divorce “amicably” and the best they could.
“Did we have moments of tension? Did we have disagreements over custody? Was stuff difficult for us? Did we get angry?” he continued. “Yes, but fundamentally it was always underpinned with a respect.”
Affleck then went on to speak about how he knew he need help with his drinking addiction “when I felt as if it impacted” his children.
“The cure for addiction is suffering, you suffer enough that something inside you goes, ‘I’m done,'” he said. “I’m lucky because I hit that point before I lost the things that were most important. Not my career or money, it was my relationship with my kids.”
Affleck also added that he believed that if he were still with Garner, he would “probably still be drinking.”
What do you think about what Affleck said?