NEWSBen Affleck Spills He Felt 'Trapped' With Ex-Wife Jennifer Garner, Admits Their Crumbling Marriage Led Him To Drink: Report
Ben Affleck has given rare insight into the downfall of his marriage to Jennifer Garner.
The actor, 49, opened up during a Tuesday, December 14, appearance on SiriusXM's The Howard Stern Show about what led to the end of their 10-year union and how his drinking was a factor in their decision to divorce.
"The truth was, we took our time, we made a decision, we grew apart," Affleck told Howard Stern of their relationship via ET. "We had a marriage that did not work. This happens."
"It is somebody I love and respect, but to whom I should not be married any longer," the Good Will Hunting star told the former shock jock about Garner, 49, — with whom he shares children Violet, 16, Seraphina, 12, and Samuel, 9.
"And then we said, 'You know what? We tried. We tried, because we had kids,'" Affleck continued. "And then both of us felt like, 'We don't want this to be the model that our kids see of marriage.'"
But the Boston native — who has since rekindled his romance with Jennifer Lopez — and the 13 Going On 30 star knew that ending their romantic relationship was for the best otherwise they "would have ended up at each other's throats" and that he "would probably still be drinking."
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"That was part of why I started drinking alcohol, I was trapped," Affleck admitted. "I was like, 'I can't leave because of my kids, but I am not happy."
"What do I do?' What I did was drink a bottle of scotch on the couch, which turned out not to be the solution," the Oscar winning actor — who has been very open about his addiction struggles — stated.
Although Affleck said that he and Garner "amicably" agreed to go their separate ways, the two had their stressful moments. "Did we have moments of tension? Did we have disagreements over the custody? Was stuff difficult for us? Did we get angry? Yes."
"But fundamentally it was always underpinned with respect," the screenwriter said of his first wife. "I knew she was a good mom. I hope that she knew that I was a good dad. I was. I had to get sober, I knew that too and I acknowledged that. I said, 'You're right. I've got to quit drinking.'"
