Ben Affleck Just Revealed The Role His Alcoholism Played In His Divorce From Jennifer Garner

Emily Shiffer

February 20, 2020 4:48 PM

Ben Affleck Says His Alcoholism Led To Divorce

Ben Affleck just opened up about how his alcoholism created "marital problems with ex-wife Jennifer Garner.
He explained that he started drinking more and more as his marriage was falling apart.
He also said that his divorce from Jen was "the biggest regret of my life."

Ben Affleck has been super open about his battle with alcoholism and finding sobriety, and now he's sharing how it impacted his marriage with ex-wife Jennifer Garner. In a new interview with The New York Times , he admitted, "The biggest regret of my life is this divorce." (The couple's divorce was finalized on October 4, 2018.)

Shame is really toxic, he said in the interview. There is no positive byproduct of shame. Its just stewing in a toxic, hideous feeling of low self-worth and self-loathing.

Ben went on to discuss how his addiction eventually coincided with the demise of his marriage.

I drank relatively normally for a long time, he told the publication. 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.

Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck at the 85th Annual Academy Awards in 2013. BusinessInsider USA Images

And now, in another interview with Good Morning America's Diane Sawyer, Ben discussed the challenges he's had and revealed more details about his divorce to Jen.

"I didnt want to get divorced; I didnt want to be a divorced person; I really didnt want to be a split family with my children, he shared. It upset me because it meant I wasnt who I thought I was, and that was so painful and so disappointingin myself.

After his interview aired, Sawyer read a public thank you that he made about his ex wife.

What I want to say publicly and privately is, Thank you. Thank you for being thoughtful, considerate, responsible, and a great mom and person, she read.

Emily Shiffer