Ben Affleck Opens Up About His Alcoholism & Calls Divorce From Jennifer Garner The 'Biggest Regret' Of His Life In Revealing New Interview

Ben Affleck reflected on everything from his battle with alcoholism to his divorce from Jennifer Garner in a revealing new interview. The actor admitted that his split from Jen was the "biggest regret" of his life, and explained that his drinking got worse as their marriage was falling apart.

"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," Ben, 47, told The New York Times. "The biggest regret of my life is this divorce," he added, before noting that he tries to not spend too much time beating himself up over past mistakes.

The Oscar winner proceeded to touch on his relapse after a long stint of sobriety in October 2019. "It’s not particularly healthy for me to obsess over the failures — the relapses — and beat myself up. I have certainly made mistakes. I have certainly done things that I regret. But you’ve got to pick yourself up, learn from it, learn some more, try to move forward. Relapse is embarrassing, obviously. I wish it didn't happen. I really wish it wasn't on the internet for my kids to see. Jen and I did our best to address it and be honest," he said.

Ben and Jen have successfully coparented their kids since their split, and he hasn't been shy about giving her credit where credit is due. "She's wonderful. Somebody's the mother of your kids, they're going to be the most important, central part in your life, and that's good," he said on the Today show in March 2019. "I hope I'm a pretty good dad. I certainly try very hard. I'm lucky they've got a great mom, and she helps out a great deal with making sure we coparent in as good a way as possible. Dads are so important to kids, and it's our responsibility to be there for them, and to be present, to be mindful, to be attentive, to be part of their lives," he added.

The Boston native also showed his former spouse some love on Mother's Day in 2019. "Happy Mother’s Day to the two incredible mothers who have shown me the meaning of love," Ben wrote on Instagram alongside a photo of Jen and his own mother Christine Boldt.

Ben and Jen called it quits after 10 years of marriage in June 2015. They are parents to daughters Violet and Seraphina and son Samuel. Ben was most recently linked to musician Katie Cherry, while Jen has been dating boyfriend John Miller since October 2018.