Ben Affleck reflected on the “deliberately mischaracterized” comments he made about his relationship with alcohol throughout his marriage to Jennifer Garner.

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For context, Ben and Jennifer got married in 2005, and welcomed three children together before announcing their split in 2015.

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Their divorce was ultimately finalized in 2018, and in the years since, Ben and Jennifer look to have maintained a strong and friendly coparenting relationship to the benefit of their three shared children — Violet, 17, Seraphina, 14, and Samuel, 11.

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After first checking into a rehab facility in 2001, Ben has spoken candidly about his difficulties with alcohol. He sought treatment for his addiction on several occasions throughout his marriage to Jennifer in 2008, 2017, and again in 2018 after their divorce was finalized.

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Ben has publicly credited Jennifer for her unwavering support during these periods, and has previously opened up about how his addiction was one of the main causes of their split, saying in 2020 that he started drinking “more and more” as their marriage was “falling apart,” which only led to “more marital problems.”

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And in December 2021, Ben faced intense backlash after he seemingly blamed his struggles with alcoholism on his marriage to Jennifer, telling Howard Stern that he’d felt “trapped” towards the end of their 10-year relationship.

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“The truth was we took our time, we made the decision, we grew apart,” he said of the marriage breakdown. “We had a marriage that didn’t work.”

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“We tried because we had kids,” he continued. “We did not want it to be the model of marriage for the kids. We did our best. I knew she was a good mom, and I hoped she knew I was a good dad.”

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Going on to talk about his alcohol addiction more explicitly, Ben told the host that if he and Jennifer were still married he’d “probably still be drinking.”

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