Read Ben Affleck’s Shocking Comment About His Marriage to Jennifer Garner

On The Howard Stern Show on Monday, the Last Duel actor was open and honest about his difficulties with alcohol while married and his desire to remain with Garner for their children. Violet, 16, Seraphina, 12, and Samuel, 9, are the couple’s three children; they were married in 2005 and divorced in 2018.

“I’d probably still be drinking. It’s part of why I started drinking … because I was trapped,” Affleck told Howard Stern, per People. “I was like ‘I can’t leave ’cause of my kids, but I’m not happy, what do I do?’ What I did was drink a bottle of Scotch and fall asleep on the couch, which turned out not to be the solution.”

Affleck underwent treatment for alcoholism many times, including in 2001, 2017, and 2018.

“The truth was, we took our time, we made the decision … We grew apart,” he continued. “We had a marriage that didn’t work, this happens, with somebody that I love and respect, but to whom I shouldn’t be married any longer. Ultimately, we tried. We tried, we tried because we had kids. Both of us felt like we don’t want this to be the model that our kids see of marriage.”

Affleck revealed his battle with drinking in a recent interview with WSJ. Magazine. The “difficulties” of alcoholism, he said, helped him “learn those things in an authentic, meaningful way to really learn the lessons that I’ve really internalized, that have created the values that I have now even though most of them were born of failure,” even though he expressed regret that he “did not have to learn some lessons the hard way.”

He added, “The only real cure for alcoholism is suffering. You just hope that your threshold for suffering is met somewhere before it destroys your life.”

Affleck and Garner appear to get along well, despite the fact that they are no longer together. Garner went trick-or-treating with Affleck and Jennifer Lopez’s children last Halloween.

Garner harbors no hatred toward the restored couple, a source previously told Entertainment Tonight.

“Jen Garner and Marc Anthony are continuing to be supportive and there doesn’t seem to be any ill will across the board,” a source said regarding Bennifer’s famous exes. “They all just want what’s best for each other and their families.”