Ben Affleck Backtracks Comments Made About Jennifer Garner
After getting major backlash this week on Twitter for insensitive comments made about his ex-wife, Ben Affleck backtracked on what he said in a recent appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live.
In a December 14 interview, Affleck, 49, said he felt “trapped” in his marriage to his ex-wife Jennifer Garner and that it was “part of why” he started drinking.
“We had a marriage that didn’t work. This happens. It was somebody I love and respect but to whom I shouldn’t be married any longer … 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 said that he and Garner, 49, made the right choice by ending their marriage because they would “probably be at each other’s throats” if they hadn’t divorced. “I’d probably still be drinking. Part of why I started drinking alcohol was because I felt trapped.”
The Gone Girl actor checked into rehab for alcoholism in 2018, after he and Garner got divorced. Affleck and Garner first confirmed their relationship in 2004 and were married in 2005. They went on to have three children together. Affleck is currently dating his ex-fiancé Jennifer Lopez.
While Affleck initially felt good about his interview, he soon discovered his comments about Garner had made their way to Twitter, creating a narrative that didn’t sit well with him. So, on yesterday’s (December 15) episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live, Affleck addressed the headlines, which he called “the clickbait thing” and “made it seem as if I was saying the exact opposite of what I said.”
“I had gone on and said how much we respect each other and cared about each other and cared about our kids and put them first and went through our stuff,” Affleck noted before addressing the claim that he’d “blamed my ex-wife for my alcoholism and that I was trapped in this marriage, like just made me out to be like the worst, most insensitive, stupid, awful guy.”
Affleck then made it clear, “That’s not true. I don’t believe that. It’s the exact opposite of who I am, what I believe and I would never want my kids to think I would ever say a bad word about their mom…it hurts my feelings!”
Watch Ben Affleck on Jimmy Kimmel Live below:
He is currently promoting his forthcoming film The Tender Bar, which is premieres tomorrow, December 17. Watch the trailer below:
