Ben Affleck says he was ‘trapped’ in marriage with Jennifer Garner: ‘Would’ve ended up at each other’s throats’

Actor Ben Affleck has opened up about his marriage to his ex-wife, actor Jennifer Garner, revealing that he felt ‘trapped’ and so started drinking. In an episode of The Howard Stern Show, Ben also said that he and Jennifer ‘would’ve ended up at each other’s throats’ if they didn’t part ways. He added that though they tried to keep it together for their children, he felt that he ‘shouldn’t be married any longer’ to Jennifer.

Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner were married for 13 years before they parted ways in 2018. They are parents to daughters – 15-year-old Violet and 12-year-old Seraphina. Ben and Jennifer also have a 9-year-old son Samuel.

Vanity Fair quoted Ben as speaking on the show, “Everything you read (about the divorce) was b*******. The truth was we took our time, we made our decision. We grew apart. We had a marriage that didn’t work. This happens. She’s somebody I love and respect, but to whom I shouldn’t be married any longer. Ultimately, we tried, we tried, we tried because we had kids, but both of us felt like we didn’t want this to be the model that our kids see of marriage. We did it amicably. We did our best.”

He also said, “We probably would’ve ended up at each other’s throats. I probably still would’ve been drinking. Part of why I started drinking was because I was trapped. The cure for addiction is suffering, you suffer enough, that something inside you goes, ‘I’m done’. I’m lucky because I hit that point before I lost the things that were most important. Not my career or money—it was my relationship with my kids, and when I felt as if it impacted them, I recognised it. It was the worst day of my life. I made amends…. But since that day, I swear to Christ, I have not ever wanted to drink once.” In 2018, Ben went to rehab three years after he and Jennifer announced their divorce.

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Earlier this year, Ben and singer-actor Jennifer Lopez made their relationship official. The duo recently spent the Thanksgiving holiday together in Los Angeles. Jennifer shares 13-year-old twins, Max and Emme, with ex-husband Marc Anthony.

Ben features in The Tender Bar and Ridley Scott’s The Last Duel. He also has Adrian Lyne’s Deep Water in his line-up. The film is based on a 1957 novel by Patricia Highsmith about a married couple in a loveless marriage.