Ben Affleck seems to have really put his foot in his mouth, and right now, he's paying the price. The actor's interview with Howard Stern dropped this week, and his comments about his marriage to Jennifer Garner have people slack-jawed. Now sources close to the couple are saying even J.Lo is "pissed."
Ben said he felt "trapped" in the marriage but that he felt like he couldn't leave because of his kids, and that led him to drink excessively. He also said that if he were still married to Jen, he'd likely still be drinking. Oof.
A lot of people felt like he was essentially blaming his bad behavior on his ex-wife, and honestly, hasn't Jennifer Garner been put through enough? Not only did he cheat on her and fall into a deep well of alcohol abuse before ultimately ending the marriage, now he's in a very public, showy relationship with new-old flame J.Lo, which, no matter who you are, has got to feel like salt in an already deep-as-an-abyss kinda wound.
Ben is really feeling the heat right now. The internet pretty much exploded on Wednesday with people wondering why, oh why, he had to say some of the things he said. While anyone who has been in an unhappy marriage understands the feeling of being trapped, it was probably best not to even hint that angel-goddess Jennifer Garner would be in any way responsible for his own terrible lapses in judgment.
So Ben is doing some damage control. He appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live on Wednesday night and said he felt that people had taken what he said out of context and spun it into the "exact opposite" of what he really meant. He did clarify one important point, though — that he would "never say a bad word" about the mother of his children. "It hurts my feelings," he told the host.
Now a source close to the couple is saying that J.Lo is really unhappy that he discussed Jennifer Garner during the interview. “[Lopez] is pissed,” the source told Page Six. “She is getting pulled into this because she is dating him. She doesn’t want to be dragged into this.”
The source added, “She has met Jennifer Garner. She is trying to get to know her and Ben’s kids.” The source said of Ben, “It’s reckless and cavalier of him.”
Ben really doesn't seem to understand what all of the fuss is about, though. He described the interview as really open and said that he tried to be very vulnerable. He says he is being made out to be the "worst, most insensitive, stupid, awful guy" and that it's really hurtful.
Clearly, Ben and Jen's marriage wasn't working, and they are both better off being out of it. But Ben has been in the public eye for a really long time. Talking openly about his alcoholism is really important, but he should understand that even hinting he was "trapped" or that his marriage to Jennifer Garner was to blame for him completely going off the rails is going to upset people.
