There are so many follow up stories in the wake of Ben Affleck’s surprise announcement that he’s completed treatment for alcohol addiction. There are of course new insider quotes about his decision to enter treatment, which is typical of the Garner-Affleck PR team, but it’s still rather measured for them. Both ET and E! are running retrospective stories about how Garner has supported Affleck and been there for him over the years, which is kind of a no-brainer. They’re not necessarily publicist-sanctioned.
There are also new stories about Affleck’s future in Batman, and that seems to still be in the works despite older rumors that Affleck is no longer interested in the role. Production has been delayed but he’s still moving forward as Batman is is reportedly still co-writing the script. Reports claim that the entire script is being rewritten at this point, which explains his conflicting statements about it. We’ve already heard that he will no longer direct. Below I’m just excerpting the quotes about why he went to rehab and how he’s doing now. Of course Ben has already been papped out with his kids.
“[Ben] has been struggling and he decided that he needed to get back to being healthy again. It was Ben’s choice to receive treatment,” says a source. “She is happy that he is working on himself.”
“Earlier last year, Ben was doing great. He was making an effort to stay healthy,” says a source. “But then something happened around the holidays that made him slip.”
Yet throughout Affleck’s ups and downs, “Jen was supportive and understanding,” says the source. – From People
“He didn’t want to cycle through anything he had dealt with in the past,” a source shared with E! News exclusively. “He’s moving in a healthy, balanced direction.”
He didn’t want to hide,” our source explained. “He will continue to work on it. This was a step, but it’s a progressive process. He’s in a good place.”
“He learned a lot while he was there,” our insider shared. “Everyone has a story and was open about it. That was meaningful to him.” – From E!
“He has a great support system around him,” adds the friend. “Really nice to see his friends and family gather for him — the industry too. This was his decision to be proactive to live a healthy life. He’s been very moved by the outpouring of support.”
Now that he has returned from treatment, Affleck’s friend says, “It is business as usual in the house. He picked the kids up from school yesterday, dropped them off today. As always the kids come first. They are fiercely protective of them.”
A separate source also tells PEOPLE that “Ben and Jen took the kids to school together” this morning, and adds that Affleck is continuing to live at the family home, where he’s lived through most of their separation.
“With Ben back in L.A., things are back to normal,” notes the source. “They are focusing on the kids. Ben missed them and he’s happy to be back with his kids.” – From People
[From People and E!]
As I said yesterday I’m glad he’s getting treatment, no matter why he sought it, and I’m glad that he’s been so open about it. This can only help him and his family if he’s serious about it. If he decides to continue his recovery, it can also help others if he is open about it to the press. Imagine if say, Johnny Depp, sought rehab and came out the other side clean and talking about it. We could see that from Ben, and I’m reminded of Colin Farrell’s rehab stories, and how much gratitude he has for it still. Ben didn’t seem that far gone, although he had some bizarre interviews. It must have been so much worse behind the scenes. Remember how Garner said he “cast quite a shadow”? There’s a lot of potential meaning to those words.
photos credit: FameFlynet
I wish him the best. Good luck and stay strong. Never give up trying your hardest Ben
Hit the gym instead of the bottle!
I think Ben’s addiction issues are likely much more than alcohol but alcohol is always the catalyst that makes things out of control for him. He starts drinking, and then drinking more, and then that leads to gambling and gambling more. He sometimes looks to like there is more than just alcohol in his system. I really hope for him that he can become totally sober, and stay sober, because he is smart, and talented, and seems to have a big heart. It would be a waste of a terrific life to drown it in a bottle.
Maybe they’re leading with alcoholism because if he went in for sex addiction, he might want to keep that quiet.
Blind Gossip says he went this time for both drugs and alcohol. Granted it’s a blind, but it fits with anothe blind Lainey had about him a few years ago. The blind also says there was recent infidelity. Again, who knows.
There was the Cabo with woman sighting recently that seemed legit. He was seen in San Diego the Sunday after, and then in a hospital photo just after with only stubble (the photo had been a clean shaven Ben I believe).
The prob with Blind Gossip is that a lot of their blind items are written and released after a story has already broken or is currently breaking. Their “four conditions” blind was released the same day as the Us weekly scoop that she was filing. Isn’t it really just a blatantly obvious conclusion that she would file because she wasn’t happy with his behavior? Drugs, drinking, women, fatherhood. Like, what is blind about that? If they had a blind that she was going to file BEFORE the us mag story, then yeah, that’s a good scoop. But they didn’t. They piggybacked onto US.
I think it probably was worse behind the scenes but maybe not as bad as when he first went years ago? Either way I’m sure that’s what jen was dealing with in the background.
Good for him for seeking help. That’s always the first step. Hopefully he continues on the path to a sober life
His “Any Given Wednesday” interview makes a whole lot more sense now.
Yes. That makes sense now. Good call.
Actually, no. His rep denied that he was under the influence during that interview.
Of course he denied it but that doesn’t make it the truth. Regardless I truly wish Ben and any others well. Addiction is a devouring black hole of hell.
I was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt that he wasn’t drunk until he announced he’d just completed rehab for alcohol addiction.
I hope he succeeds in recovery. I hope his family also succeeds. These photos make me really realize the huge double standard for men and women in Hollywood. Ben is my age, exactly. And he looks it – he’s gained a little weight and is going gray and is wearing slouchy dad clothes. Which is FINE. But if a 44 year old female actor had photos like that, everyone would say how she’s 1. old, 2. fat, and 3. let herself go completely. Sigh.
So true.
I’ve noticed the worst example of this double standard is with my local newscasters. The females are young beautiful women done up like a Miss Beauty Pageant and the males look like your slubby funny not-so-attractive uncle.
just look at Fox News- Ditto
Good for him for trying to sort it all out. I’ve said it before, but I really have a soft spot for Ben – I hope he really gets the help he needs.
He definitely has an addictive personality with his gambling and drinking. Hopefully trying to get clean will help him and his family. Now he needs to work on his addiction to women which seems to have played a part as well in losing his family. I don’t have a soft spot for him like you do @Erinn,, I do hope he gets well but how can you forgive a man who was willing to give up his family by doing the nanny. We all make choices in life that we can’t take back, but his ex and kids will never get over that one. Isn’t that what they do, when caught…..say they’re addicted to sex. Ugh. Wishing him well tho for the sake of those three kids who had nothing to do with nothing.
Lost his family… ex…? What do you mean, he hasn’t lost anything except his hair.
A very significant proportion of husbands and wives are adulterers, in Hollywood and out of it. How can you forgive? A lot of the spouses seem to manage it, so it’s hardly surprising fans do. It’s up to a couple whether it’s a deal breaker.
Good luck to him, addictions are a curse. Hope he succeeds.
He has the smug grin of someone who figured out a way to get bad decisions, bad interviews and bad movies excused. Worked for his brother in certain circles. Anyway, the problem that I have with a lot of these so-called sources is that they don’t give any new info that isn’t completely generic and self-evident. People’s source could be a paparazzo. Judging how happy he looks to see the paps in the pics above, I’m only half joking.
Yep, it’s already starting. Blame it allllll on the alcohol. The nanny, too. All the cheating, all the gambling, just blame it on the liquor. He didn’t know what he was doing!11!
His looks are totally shot. Couldn’t have happened to a better man.
From what I have seen, when you stop drinking your body can do all kinds of weird stuff like middle Bloats up, puffy face and feet. I think sometimes people gain a little fluid as their bodies start fixing the liver damage.
And of course you can also get really hungry and put on some pounds if you drank booze as a substitute for eating proper meals, so if he gained a little weight it is not surprising.
I hope he doesn’t suffer any of the severe stuff like wernicke’s, where you have nerve damage because of nutrition depletion. 🙁
He has 4 great reasons to try and succeed: himself and his 3 children.
All the best for him and his family.
Good for him for getting help, but dang…he looks like hot garbage right now.
Damn he used to be so good looking. He should be at his peak now, mid 40s is a men’s sexiest age, all the alcohol destroys your face apparently
He smokes, doesn’t sleep, doesn’t eat properly, and has a drinking problem, maybe drugs too; he hasn’t looked well or good in years.
Just because I think she deserves a shout-out in the midst of Ben-central, Jennifer is testifying before a Subcommittee hearing in Congress today on behalf of Save the Children regarding Early Childhood Education.
I wonder if anyone will bring the daughter(s) to support HER as she did when someone else was testifying.
Good for her.
Congresswoman DeLauro just called her on to give her opinion on an issue and she had nothing to say. I felt bad for her.
She’s a bit out of her depth in this meeting but you can’t fault her for trying.
Where is her country accent? Funny how it comes and goes depending who she’s addressing.
D… I am southern and have an accent which comes and goes as well. If I am with others who have southern accents, mine becomes much more noticeable. When I am with those who do not have a southern accent, it is much less so.
Wouldn’t it be fascinating if we saw a high profile woman in the same position. Would she be applauded? Would she be able to state that her co-parent cared for her children while she got help? Would her professional roles be in the abundance that Affleck’s have been and will most certainly continue to be? Would her extra curricular activities outside her marriage be chalked up to her addiction? Would she be hailed a ‘hero’ in a Huffington Post op-ed? I think not. When that happens, I will be impressed. Good for Ben for seeking help but please, keep this in perspective. His ‘honesty’ is thin and his risk associated with that honesty is low.
Elizabeth Vargas comes to mind.
Good lord he looks awful in the above pics. A mix of bloat and botox?
Interesting, New York Post has a story that the new US Weekly management team has the US staff on the firing line – particularly over why they didn’t break the Affleck rehab news early instead of holding it until he was out and having to share it with People. Apparently US knew about the rehab stay weeks before, so we can assume People knew too. They were obviously asked not to print anything in return for some nugget of fluff – or to be blacklisted later. So we can now assume US knew when they posted the 2/17 story and People also knew when they posted that story on 3/8.