Ben Affleck Says He Doesn’t Blame Jennifer Garner For His Alcoholism

During that interview with The Hollywood Reporter where Ben Affleck said “fuck no” to directing a DC movie under James Gunn and claimed he had a really good time with Jennifer Lopez at the Grammys (uh huh), he also talked about a side eye-inducing comment he made about his ex-wife Jennifer Garner in 2021 during an interview with Howard Stern. Back then, he said that if he were still married to Jennifer Garner, he’d probably still be married to the bottle too. But because Ben obviously doesn’t want to get jumped by Jen’s BFF Victor Garber, he’d like to clarify what he meant.

This is what Ben said to Howard Stern in 2021:

I’d probably still be drinking. It’s part of why I started drinking…because I was trapped. I was like ‘I can’t leave ’cause of my kids, but I’m not happy, what do I do?’ What I did was drink a bottle of scotch and fall asleep on the couch, which turned out not to be the solution.

Many took those comments as Ben dissing Jennifer Garner, the woman who stood by him, supported him, and helped him during and after their 10-year marriage. While talking to THR, Ben said that’s not what he meant at all, and he was hurt by his words being twisted into a knife going into Jennifer Garner’s back!

The idea that I was blaming my wife for my drinking. To be clear, my behavior is my responsibility entirely. The point that I was trying to make was a sad one. Anyone who’s been through divorce makes that calculus of, How much do we try? We loved each other. We care about each other. We have respect for each other. I was trying to say, “Hey, look, I was drinking too much, and the less happy you become, whether it’s your job, your marriage, it’s just that as your life becomes more difficult, if you’re doing things to fill a hole that aren’t healthy, you’re going to start doing more of those things.” I think I was pretty articulate about that. It was the New York Post who deliberately mischaracterized it in order to make it clickbait, and everyone else then picked it up, and it didn’t matter how many times I said, “I do not feel this way. I’m telling you, I don’t blame my ex-wife for my alcoholism.” So, yeah. It’s hard. But anyway, so [Jennifer Lopez] tells me today, “Relax, be yourself. Have fun. You’re actually a fun guy who is real and genuine and you just seem so serious.” Do I seem serious? But as in many things, she’s really right. And she loves me. She’s looking out for me. She’s trying to help me. So it’s like, maybe I ought to fucking listen to her.

JLo must’ve been going over these lines with him all night! Ben went on to say that he and Jennifer Garner vibe well as co-parents since calling it quits. Okay, but Ben should’ve also added, “Listen, Jennifer Garner took me through a Jack in the Box drive-thru during my hour of need, so I’m indebted to her FOREVER.”

Pic: INSTARImages