Ben Affleck faced significant online backlash after telling Howard Stern that he felt “trapped” in his marriage to ex-wife Jennifer Garner and that continuing to drink played a role in their separation.
Ben Affleck Comments on Marriage and Sobriety
According to The Howard Stern Show transcript, the actor stated that part of the reason he began drinking heavily was because he felt confined within the marriage. Affleck told Stern, “I was like, ‘I can’t leave because of my kids, but I’m not happy, what do I do?’ And 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 also remarked that if they had stayed together, he likely would have continued drinking, adding that they ultimately grew apart and made a decision to separate.
Public Backlash and Social Media Reaction
The remarks immediately drew heavy criticism across social media platforms. According to Daily Mail, users accused Affleck of shifting responsibility for his alcoholism onto his ex-wife. Commenters pointed out that Garner had publicly supported him through his recovery, famously driving him to a treatment facility in 2018, three years after their official separation in June 2015. Several social media users argued that the actor’s comments undermined the mother of his three children—Violet, 15, Seraphina, 12, and Samuel, nine—and demanded that he take full accountability for his recovery.
Jennifer Garner’s Response and Public Outing
Amid the digital firestorm, Jennifer Garner was photographed out in Los Angeles with two of her children, Seraphina and Samuel, maintaining a calm demeanor. However, according to an InTouch source cited by Daily Mail, Garner was “not particularly happy with Ben’s wording on the subject of why they divorced.” The source described the remarks as a “slap in the face” to the actress, who has historically remained private regarding the details of their decade-long marriage and subsequent split.
Looking Back at Past Public Comments
The 2021 controversy also prompted commentators to revisit past remarks made by Garner regarding Affleck’s public persona. In a 2016 profile with Vanity Fair, Garner addressed media attention surrounding Affleck’s large back tattoo of a phoenix, offering a polite dismissal of the body art by quoting a Southern idiom: “Bless his heart.” The actress maintained boundaries regarding their family dynamic even as media interest intensified following their separation.
Worth a look