Emotional Ben Affleck Opens About His Pains of Divorce and Alcoholism
The actor-director who made millions at the box office and won 2 Oscars, Ben Affleck goes emotional on “The Way Back” film’s press tour.
Ben was on the show ‘Good Morning America’ on Thursday for speaking to Diane Sawyer about his upcoming movie. During the same, he went emotionally about his past and married life. He stated his divorce to be the disappointing and painful experience and added, “It meant I wasn’t who I thought I was.” The child of a divorced, alcoholic father, Affleck never wanted to get divorced himself. During the show, he also shared that he never wanted to have a split family with his kids.
Ben’s Married Life
Ben Affleck was married to Jennifer Garner, an American Actress in 2005 with 3 children Samuel Garner, Seraphina Rose Elizabeth, and Violet Anne. 10 years after their marriage, the couple announced a separation in 2015 followed by official filing for divorce in 2017 and its finalization in 2018.
A History of Alcoholism
Affleck family has a history of alcoholism attached to it. Ben also opened up about her grandmother who took her own life while struggling with drugs and alcohol during her mid-40s. He also told about his father and aunt who battled addiction in their lives. However, Ben had seen the worse due to his father’s alcohol addiction and always wanted to be sober during the formative years, unlike his father.
Things didn’t go as Ben planned and he got into alcoholism as well. But in 2001, he got sober and spent 8 years drinking only casually. Though things started spiraling and his drinking frequency increased to daily occurrence that soon passed the safe mark. Later, tensions erupted in his married life forced him to the devastating truth of his divorce and that added more to the negative impact.
To get his life back on track, Affleck opted for treatment to alcohol addiction in 2016 as well as in 2018. Last year was his year of celebrating sobriety until TMZ cameras caught him after a party looking drunk. To this, he claimed that he hasn’t watched the full video and has fears that his kids will be seeing the same and having a drunk father would be a hard part of their life.
Ben’s Views on Parenting
Stating his last relapse as a wake-up call, he justified his time off from work to be a parent. He found joy in spending time with his kids while driving them to, and picking up from, school, going to swim meets, driving them back home from soccer, and more. He seemed excited to cherish those small talks and make memorable moments with his family.
Return to the Big Screen
The 2020 drama film ‘The Way Back’ marks the return of Ben Affleck to the big screen. He will be seen portraying an alcoholic basketball coach of a high-school team. Affleck mentioned a part of the movie wherein alcohol addiction makes the character lose his job but instead of surrendering to the consequences, he tries to bounce back. Affleck mentioned that he can connect to the story and that he won’t leave any stone unturned to be the best version of himself.
