These are photos of Ben Affleck outside restaurant C Barton in LA last night, where he celebrated his 45th birthday with his three kids, Violet, 11, Seraphina, 8, Samuel, 5. He’s seen carrying a box with presents and of course People has a glowing write up about how he’s been spending time with his family this past week. This makes me wonder, did Affleck pull away from Lindsay, as I’m sure is his pattern, for a couple of weeks? US did a “relationship timeline” for Ben and Lindsay just yesterday and the last time they were spotted together was two weeks ago. Either they’re keeping it low key and Affleck knows how to go under the radar when needed or he’s taking some time off from her to keep her expectations low now that she’s been debuted as his official. My money is on second one. Also spotted out yesterday was Jennifer Garner, who was seen picking up a birthday cake for Affleck while wearing sensible low heels and beaming for the paparazzi. That photo is below. Here’s part of People’s write up:
A source tells PEOPLE the kids, who arrived separately from Affleck, brought several gifts for their dad, who dressed casually in a grey blazer and jeans.
“They had a great week together as a family,” a family friend shares with PEOPLE. “The kids were thrilled to be out with their dad. Ben was excited to take them out today.”
“It was a pretty casual dinner — just him spending quality time with his family,” adds an onlooker. The Afflecks ordered several of the restaurant’s whimsical dishes, including Studio 54 —The Disco Ball, a 12 oz. wagyu beef meatball and bucatini pasta; Marie Antoinette’s Head — Let Them Eat Cake, a dessert topped with a cotton-candy wig; and Dolla Dolla Bills Y’all, a tableside-torched s’mores tart with a bank-heist theme.
A special person in Affleck’s life who was not in attendance at the dinner was girlfriend Lindsay Shookus.
Earlier this month, the couple, who have dating for over a month [sic], were spotted on Tuesday having a meal at Osteria Mozza after hitting up a comedy show in Hollywood.
An insider previously told PEOPLE Affleck and estranged wife Jennifer Garner, who coordinated their divorce filings in April after almost two years of separation, will continue to put their three children first.
“He’s trying to live a normal life and is focused on putting his family first,” the insider explained. “Ben and Jen have worked hard to figure out what’s best for their kids. They’ll continue to spend time together and separately.”
I’m glad I ate enough breakfast this morning because the food themes at that restaurant are making me hungry. So that “dating for over a month” line gives this away as a story sourced to Affleck’s people, right? Because we’ve heard plenty of times that Affleck and Shookus hooked up three years ago, when they were both still married to other people. Interesting that Ben visited Lindsay’s family in Maine early this month, hung out with her and his brother at a comedy showand then hasn’t been spotted with her again for a couple of weeks. Do people who have been happily dating a couple of months willingly take two weeks off like that? People who have been dating for years would do that. Especially if know the other person isn’t going anywhere and they’re trying to rehab their image after being caught buying booze when they’re supposedly sober. Will we see another pap stroll of Ben and Lindsay soon?
Here’s Ben out with Violet on 8-2.
Photo credit: Backgrid
What future ex wife would accept to celebrate her future ex-husband’s birthday with one of the women with who her ex husband cheated on her during their marriage?
He can’t bring a long time mistress or summer fling around his kids for his bday dinner. He looks a hot mess. I really wish they’d take this undercover for awhile. It used to be nice to see the family outings but now it’s just sad.
He looks so bloated. Ugh. And he looks like you need to bathe in Purell hand sanitizer after touching him. Never did like him. Always have me a weird vibe.
Agreed. He looks bloated and rough. He gives me weird creep vibes, too. Something about him has always seemed off to me…
He just screams “Loser” to me!
He looks terrible, not that I’ve ever considered him a good-looking man. At least at one time he looked clean and trim. Now he looks bloated, red-faced and sweaty. I’d hate to stand next to him in an elevator. YUCK
Ben looks bloated & etc. Jen’s shoes are hideous. Nothing new here.
Eh whatever for the rest of it. I never took the “romance” with Lindsay seriously.
Holy night sweats he looks horrifying in that header pic!
He showed up to see his kids like that??? They must have been terrified.
So bloated, pink and blood shot.
She’s probably a producer on Weekend Update: Summer Edition. It airs on Thursday nights and I think the first episode was last week.
She was in the credits as a producer in last week’s episode. That’s how I view it. I mean, we know she lives in NYC and SNL is ramping back up. Meh.
It’s really a shame he did whatever it was to his face; now even his smile at his own child looks unnatural and insincere.
It looks downright frightening and menacing. Too much work.
The side piece now bona fide is not there because his publicists and manager have screamed at…errr…politely suggested to him that his handling of this has been utterly disastrous, that WB is questioning whether he’s sober, and that it’s time to trot out the kids and feed details to People. But she’ll be back.
He looks like he fell off the wagon HARD. I’m not convinced Jen is hanging around for scraps of his affection or publicity. IMO she keeps herself around to supervise, especially when he’s got the little ones around.
I couldn’t agree more. She is simply protecting the kids as any carer would do.
yes, this.
He looks so bloated and uncomfortable.
Jen was on vacation with the kids last week. There were several FB and Twitter sightings in Utah, Tetons and Yellowstone through at least Wednesday. Driving home from there would have taken a couple of days, and she wasn’t seen again in LA with the kids until Saturday, so I’m not sure what part of “last week” he spent with them, but oh well. At least he included the kids in his day – I’m sure that meant a lot to them.
I helped my kids get cards and treats for their dad after divorce. It was for their joy, not mine.
I really admire divorced people who can co-parent for their kids.
Thanks. It paid off too because now we have grandchildren and it’s easy for all of us to gather when the kids come from out of town without issues.
Good move. It isn’t worth it in the long run if it can be helped.
This was nice of her to do. Sad a little too but divorce is sad.
Is it 120 degrees there? If he’s sober, what reason does he have for the massive amounts of dripping sweat and bloating? What a mess.
He still looks like crap and he’s still an awful person. Next
Blimey, he’s turning into Brian Blessed.
Lindsay was probably busy. She went to great lengths to get him, I don’t think she will let go easily.
So true. A male friend of mine got his first post-divorce girlfriend after being married for around 25 years. She followed him around everywhere. He was self-employed and she would come to the office and stay there all day. He was a paralegal and she would follow him to the courtroom to watch him there. Sometimes they would have fights and he would dump her. But I always said “It won’t be over until SHE says it’s over”. I think they are still together.
Rough as a badger’s arse.
I love that expression.
I don’t know, Jen looks pretty happy here…like she has a little secret. I think something is up.
Jennifer is looking great lately. It’s amazing what getting rid of 250 pounds can do for your attitude.
I kinda believe the tabloids that she is quietly seeing someone.
Agree with E she’s seeing someone and I bet has been for a while. She is so relaxed looking. Sunday evening with Ben nearby, she was still completely at ease with him and the kids. She also has a new movie and she has to feel great about that.
Haha just noticed the logos on the side of the box. It’s from Gap/Old Navy, etc.
Makes sense, huh.
What child at 5 or 7 doesn’t want to spend time with their dad (Probably even 11) especially on his birthday! I bet birthdays were/ are a big deal in their house!
I think Jen tried to make it nice for their children by getting the cake (as she was seen carrying a big white box on DM) or cupcakes)
She did say “I need to move on with the big picture always on my mind, and the kids first and foremost.”
Ben could be celebrating with Lindsay this weekend, instead!
I think that being Ben got papped( whether it was planned or not) , he wanted to control the narrative rather than have the tabloids run the story. This would be a great opportunity to revamp his image as well!
Has anyone else noticed they have a new pretty blonde nanny. Again!
Yeah, well he’s not Jen’s problem anymore!
I don’t think Affleck cares that Lindsay has been dubbed his “sort of official.” I think that was his intention, to be able to stop hiding it, when they went public. Cheating and hookups aside, when it comes to his public relationship life, he’s always been a serial monogamist. I do think, however, that he – or more likely his agents, PR and WB – care about him being seen buying alcohol in Maine and perceived as off the wagon. That’s my guess as to the backoff of public displays with Lindsay – not sure there’s any more to it than that. As well as the fact that SNL is going into pre-production now.
That is NOT a cake box. I didn’t notice the Gap/Old Navy logos that someone else mentioned but initially I thought that the box was way too small for a cake anyway. The kids were dropped off by the nanny so no Jen at the dinner. Much ado about nothing IMO but of course Jen’s stan websites (x17 for example) are breathlessly reporting how great she is for “celebrating” her ex’s birthday. Give me a break. As for Lindsay, who knows. She could be in LA with him right now and prob was last week when Jen took the kids on vacation. We see her when Ben wants us to see her and considering the hits that he’s been taking for not spending more time with the kids, I’m not surprised that it’s all kids kids kids right now.
I think they’re talking about two different boxes. The one Jen was carrying was flat and white and could have been for a sheet cake. The one the kids brought to dinner was a bigger, brown box with the logos I think.
Ah. Well the small white box doesn’t look like a cake or cupcakes to me, either.
Please get the filler out of your face, Ben, or never put it in again, at least.
He’s looking pretty rough here. Noticed he is back with the limo again. Weird, he was driving yesterday. Maybe Snookims was waiting in the limo for him to finish his “family obligations”.
If I were Jen, a chauffeur would be a precondition to him having the kids. Addicts fall off the wagon. I wouldn’t trust his judgment until he’s many years sober.
I thought the pictures from Sunday night’s dinner were really sad. Jennifer looked great and totally engaged with the kids. Ben looked rough and preoccupied. He doesn’t look well. He was photographed at a doctor’s office last week. Odd that he drove the family on Sunday night but the kids arrived to dinner with the nanny and he came alone.
The driving thing is weird to me. Most of us assumed that he was using a car service bc he was drinking again. But like you said, he drove one of the family cars on Sunday. Maybe he’s just lazy now and doesn’t want to drive himself?
I don’t know. You would have thought he would have brought his kids and taken them home. Right before the Lindsay story broke there was a story of Jennifer bringing Violet and Sam to the farmer’s market to see him. He was constantly looking at his phone then too. I don’t think things are too amicable behind the scenes.
@Tina – The story about the day the Lindsay news broke said they met at the Brentwood Country Mart. Jen dropped the kids off with him there to leave with Ben in his car. I’m not sure the limo use has anything to do with sobriety. Maybe he doesn’t feel like dealing with trying to ditch the paps in his own car and it’s just easier. Who knows.
I’m guessing things might not be the most amicable right now. This is pretty normal in any divorce. But they seem amicable enough that they’re still putting the kids first, and that’s all that really matters. The constant family outings with all five of them were bound to stop at some point. No one who’s actually splitting can go on like that forever.
Raise your hand if you think he was going home after dinner with the kids, or going home alone. The night was young. He was probably just getting started on celebrating don’t ya think?
“the couple, who have dating for over a month [sic]”
Slow clap for the MAGNIFICENT shade there.
I would hate to have Jennifer Garner as the ex wife. You would never win.
Well Ben was able to keep Lindsay unnoticed for 3 years. ( or 3 mos. depending what you believe!) He was last papped with her in late July not to say he hasn’t been with her after that but not publicly anyway! I think Ben can fly under the radar as he has already proven that!
He may even be seeing her this weekend for his birthday, who knows?
I read that gold balloons were delivered to his home for his birthday. We could all read into that as well by thinking they are from Lindsay but anyone could have sent them even Matt Damon!
Jennifer Garner is wicked!!!! I love it!! The nanny is there to lure Ben away from Lindsay Shookus.
She probably doesn’t want Ben banging ~another~ nanny. They seem to go through nannies quickly enough as it is without some of them being fired for sleeping with the boss.
He looked fine going into the restaurant but then like disheveled and exhausted leaving it. I guess all of his kids at the same time is too much for him to handle. He always seems pretty unhappy doing the parenting thing, I’m sorry to say. I’ve thought this for years. He always seems checked out and weary when he’s on dad duty.
3 kids are a lot! I remember in an interview on Fallon, Ben said something like girls are smarter than boys. He said his girls read and built things and his son just crashes into walls.
I think Jen has always been the one to take the lead and he always seemed to follow her lead. But at his birthday party, Jen was not there to help him. Maybe the nanny was there to assist but it was reported that Sam was crawling all over him at dinner!
@Linds, I have to agree that he looked fine going in but exhausted and dishelved coming out! And what happened to his hair!?
Always good to get along if you can, especially if you have kids. My ex and I divorced when my son was six, but we still lived near one another and managed to get along for him. It made his high school graduation so much easier! He even babysat for my second one a couple of times. Always easier to get along if you can imo.
Okay I admit to some confusion. Did Jan have dinner with them and was carrying a gift box or a cake box?
Or was she not present and the nanny dropped them off?
The nanny dropped the kids off for the dinner. The “cake box” stroll was earlier that day, in the AM. Some on Daily Fail suggested that the box was donuts or other pastries because of its size.