Ben Affleck is continuing to put in the work on himself to be the best dad, friend, actor and ex-husband possible. After three stints in rehab and a handful of public omissions that he suffers from alcoholism, Affleck is moving forward in embracing a life of sobriety while still taking accountability for his past discretions. That includes the part his drinking played in the dissolution of his marriage.On Tuesday,
The New York Times released an intimate interview with Affleck to promote this latest film
The Way Back. Affleck stars as the coach of a struggling high school basketball team who is hiding his own alcoholism and still reeling from his painful divorce. It’s a film that hits closer to home possibly than any other film the Oscar winner has starred in and one that he can bring a brutal honesty to in his acting.“People with compulsive behavior, and I am one, have this kind of basic discomfort all the time that they’re trying to make go away,” said Affleck. “You’re trying to make yourself feel better with eating or drinking or sex or gambling or shopping or whatever. But that ends up making your life worse. Then you do more of it to make that discomfort go away. Then the real pain starts. It becomes a vicious cycle you can’t break. That’s at least what happened to me.”Affleck said that he had managed to keep a lid on his drinking for years, but this became increasingly difficult as his personal life began to unravel. “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,” said Affleck.The
Batman star married fellow actor Jennifer Garner in 2004 after a year of dating. Together, the couple welcomed three children, including 14-year-old Violet, 11-year-old Seraphina and 7-year-old Samuel. The pair split in 2015 and
eventually divorced three years later. “The biggest regret of my life is this divorce,” said Affleck. “Shame is really toxic,” he continued. “There is no positive byproduct of shame. It’s just stewing in a toxic, hideous feeling of low self-worth and self-loathing.”The actor has maintained a mostly positive relationship with Garner (
she was reportedly instrumental in helping Affleck agree to return to rehab in 2018), but the cost of Affleck’s alcoholism is permanent.In 2019, the actor
briefly relapsed after celebrating one year of sobriety and paparazzi caught Affleck at Garner’s house the next day. “Relapse is embarrassing, obviously,” he said. “I wish it didn’t happen. I really wish it wasn’t on the internet for my kids to see. Jen and I did our best to address it and be honest.”Affleck says he’s had the same conversation with himself that many addicts have been forced to endure when coming to terms with their illness. “It took me a long time to fundamentally, deeply, without a hint of doubt, admit to myself that I am an alcoholic,” said Affleck. “The next drink will not be different.”The actor, who is using his platform to help
fight the stigma around addiction and raise money for organizations helping others, says he’s now trying to focus on the positive. “It’s not particularly healthy for me to obsess over the failures — the relapses — and beat myself up,” said Affleck. “I have certainly made mistakes. I have certainly done things that I regret. But you’ve got to pick yourself up, learn from it, learn some more, try to move forward.”[video_embed id='1903209']BEFORE YOU GO: Steph Curry shares sexy vacation pic with wife Ayesha Curry[/video_embed]
