Ben Affleck says he ‘would still be drinking’ if he were married to Jennifer Garner

Actor Ben Affleck, 49, received widespread criticism after saying in an interview that if he hadn’t divorced actress Jennifer Garner, 49, he would probably “still be drinking”. The artists were married for 13 years, and separated in 2018.

According to Affleck, the relationship was frayed. “We would have ended up hitting each other,” he said on The Howard Stern Show radio show. “Part of the reason I started drinking is because I felt trapped,” adds he, who first checked into rehab after his divorce.

“I was like ‘I can’t leave on account of my kids, but I’m not happy, what do I do?’ the solution,” he recalled. The two are parents of Violet, 16, Seraphina, 12, and Samuel, 9.

“In the end, we tried, we tried because we had kids, but none of us wanted this to be the model of marriage for kids to model,” continued the actor, who is now dating Jennifer Lopez.

The artist even dismissed the rumors that surfaced at the time of the divorce, and said that despite the disagreements that occurred during the process, Garner “is someone I love and respect, but to whom I couldn’t stay married any longer.”

“I knew she was a good mother and I always hoped she would know I was a good father. I know I was,” he continued. Affleck also commented on his recovery process from alcoholism, and revealed that it took him about a year and a half to sober up.

“The cure for addiction is suffering. You suffer enough that something in you says ‘I’m tired.’ the money, but my relationship with my children,” he concluded.

On social networks, fans and netizens criticized the actor for relating his alcoholism to the period in which he was married to the protagonist of the movie “De Repente 30”. “Jennifer Garner was too good for you,” wrote one.

“Is this man serious? He’s playing Jennifer [Garner] under a bus even though she’s there to help him through his most difficult times, taking him to rehab, keeping silent after the divorce, putting her kids and him first,” said another.

“Ben Affleck is really blaming Jennifer [Garner] why does he drink? As if she hadn’t taken him to rehab three whole years after they announced the divorce?” asked a third. “I’m sorry Ben Affleck, but it was Jennifer Garner and her children who were stuck living with an alcoholic and enduring the scares of her drink,” pointed out another.