Earlier this week, Ben Affleck was getting headlines that claimed he said he still loved Jennifer Garner. That wasn’t exactly the conversation. Hoda Kotb said on The Today Show “I can tell you still love her” after Ben spoke positively about Jen as a parent. Ben answered “Of course she’s wonderful.” There was no pause between “of course” and the next part but that’s how it was reported, like he said “of course” he loved her. Anyway that might explain why we’re getting stories about what a great relationship Ben and Lindsay have now, especially because this People article about how great things are for them specifically references that interview.
“He and Lindsay are spending time together. He loves to be with her,” an Affleck source tells PEOPLE, adding that “they still are both focusing on their families.” (Affleck shares daughters Violet, 13, and Seraphina, 10, and son Sam, 7, with his ex-wife Jennifer Garner; Shookus shares a young daughter with her ex-husband Kevin Miller.)
“She has been a positive impact on his life,” a Shookus insider adds. “They had remained friends, and started their relationship again. They’re obviously back together. She is his number one supporter.”
Of course, Affleck also has Garner in his corner: Discussing his ongoing struggles with alcoholism In a March 4 interview with Today, he said, “When somebody’s the mother of your kids, they’re going to be the most important, central person in your life and that’s good.”
“Ben and Lindsay have picked back up where they left off at this point,” the Shookus insider says, adding, “They have a wonderful, caring relationship and a healthy lifestyle together.”
The Affleck source adds that the Oscar winner has been in a really good place recently with his career and sobriety. The source says, “Life has its challenges, but Ben has been doing great.”
This is the Affleck and Garner PR strategy, to spell everything out ad nauseum so there’s no confusion. I think they got back together because Ben needed a stable image during promotion for his Netflix film. I also think Ben wanted a significant other now that Jen has a boyfriend. How long do you think it will be before we hear that Ben is cheating on Lindsay? I give it until the summer. I think he’ll cheat in the next handful of weeks but that we’ll only hear about it over the summer when he picks another young model who wants publicity. I’m not sure whether Lindsay will take him back or not. She did once so it’s always possible she’ll do it again. I mean consider his pattern with Jen. Maybe things are different now that he’s sober though.
Look at how she looks at him. These photos are from Monday at JFK airport.
Photos credit: Backgrid and WENN
He is an ugly drunk. I hope he can stay sober for his kids.
i dont know why this made me LOL
Why Lindsay?
Kittycat out here asking the right questions.
You should be asking Lindsay, “Why Ben?”.
I feel like she meant “Why” as in “why would you get back together with him?”
This is exactly how Jen used to look at him. It makes me think about what she said about him: how when he is interested you feel like the most important person in the world to him and then when he loses interest it feels cold to be around him.
J Lo too. When they were a couple they looked at each other with such intensity. I guess the guy is very magnetic when he’s into you.
That was a two-way street. I always thought of J.Lo ans Ben as two peas in a pod. Very alike. Which is probably what the issue was. There can only be one “star” in their relationships. And it has to be them.
@Valiantly Varnished I have always thought the same thing, which is why it surprises me that JLo can be with A-Rod, who is very much the same way. Although I guess he’s retired now, so she’s still the main star in the relationship.
Hey, they all understand the hollywood spin cycle. He’s the oscar-winning star – he needs the adoring gaze of a little woman!
He could have almost any woman that he wanted. Why does he want this particular woman, I wonder?
Have you noticed that the SNL folks are getting into the PR dating? I don’t think any of this is real. i think it is PR for Lindsey, also. Who would know who she was if not for Ben
Of course they do…until they break up again. Honestly I doubt they’ll even make it to summer. Two months tops is my guess.
She looks in love. Not sure about him
plenty of guys get a divorce and the mother of their children doesn’t remain the most central woman in their life. I smell codependence
He has mommy issues
Hopefully Shookus will get sober with him and they can both stop being cheating drunks / horrible people
Please, his PR team probably told him to say that, given the affair, Jennifer’s well publicised tolerance/bending over backwards for him, etc. He has to look GRATEFUL but remorseful would be stretching credulity. Who know what he thinks, but I don’t think he’s codependent. He couldn’t wait to get away from her mothering and Lindsay’s (maybe cool girl) attitude was like sunlight after lightless solitary confinement.
They do both look super party-all-night when they’re with each other. He’s always more bloated and sweaty than usual.
““They have a wonderful, caring relationship and a healthy lifestyle together.”
*blinks*….*Checks google*…..The infamous Jack in the Box photo and his ex-wife leaving his house shaking and coming back with backup to drive him to rehab was SIX MONTHS AGO. He “finished” rehab LESS THAN six months ago. I mean…
Look hoping for the best, but stop selling me this: everything was actually always fine narrative and it’s all good. Just…stop.
I was about to say the same thing!!! It’s been like 30 seconds since his meltdown with the model and rehab and the abrupt cutoff with Lindsay. How is anyone supposed to be fooled by this?
Aww, the sun is shining on her.
The world is full of nannies and vet techs, Lindsay.
Lol’d
Aw, they look so happy. I hope they are!
Sure Jan.
Ugh.
Eh…when Ben runs off the rails…she delivers him back to his support system to help him get back on track…and let’s him knows that he can give her a call when he gets his mess cleaned up…
I’m trying to find something wrong with that…and I can’t….
Yeah, I think that is more likely what is going on here. He went off the rails and Lindsay is basically an out of town girlfriend with limited access to his life and family. I truly believe he has compartmentalized his life so much that Lindsay is not close with his family or has met the kids.
When he fell off the wagon last year, she stepped aside and also got out of the line of fire. I don’t think he wanted her help last year when he fell off the wagon so she backed off and waited for him to sober up and give her a call when he was better.
Enter stage left: Playboy bunny and Savior Jennifer Garner.
I mean if you’re involved with an addict or just a really unhealthy person, sometimes stepping away is the only thing you can do. Otherwise you’re just codependent and enabling *cough* Jen *cough* or worse, getting dragged down with them. No shade here – for all we know she told him to forget her number until he got his shit together and this is where they’re at now.
THIS. Lindsay was smart to bail. NO ONE can save Ben or sober up Ben besides HIMSELF. You have to emotionally detach from the addict, no matter how much you love them. You need to separate yourself emotionally, spiritually from addicts and save yourself which Lindsay seems to have done for several months..On the other hand, Jen has an unhealthy attachment to Ben – codependency.
Jen hasn’t figured that out yet and continues to codependently bail him out. And as long as she continues to rescue him, he will never hit rock bottom and never get better. But if Ben doesn’t need rescuing, doesn’t need help parenting then he won’t need Jen and she knows it.
Nothing wrong with her not being responsible for his rehabilitation but I’m sure it wasn’t easy for her to walk away and have the person she presumably loves self-destruct. It’s hard as a bystander to watch her put herself in that situation again where history shows he will do it again. That’s why I make the cringe face when I read about them being back together…
The only real PR angle Jen Garner has left is the Mommy angle. Ben plays into that publicly so that she’ll stay happy and continue to do 95% of the real parenting work while he participates when it’s convenient for him. I don’t know what Lindsay’s deal is. She can do better. I’m guessing she likes the physical distance between them as it is clear that neither one is going to relocate. She gets the perks of dating him (the gifts, trips, etc) without having to really deal with his drama or tailspins (that will be Jen’s responsibility forever). Shookus can just come and go. That said, not sure why he wants to be with her as she bailed on him when things got bad with his drinking. Weird couple, they seem to be using each other.
Granted this was all through photographs, and my own inferences, but it seemed like Lindsay was happy to drink with him which is not exactly conducive to his sobriety. They both cheated on their spouses to be together if I recall (blind items and such). He has a known history of issues and has been down the sobriety train before. I think he will go out once again, and he will cheat on her. Lindsay needs to go to a few 12 Step meetings herself, both AA and Alanon IMO. Jennifer Garner needs to go to Alanon too. Homegirl needs some tools or she’ll find another Ben and wonder how she got there.
Lindsay totally bailed when Ben was at his worst just 6 mos. ago & left his ex pick up the pieces! Now that Jen & Ben are legally divorced, I don’t believe that legally Jen could ever intervene anymore when it comes to Ben’s health. It is all Lindsay’s show now. Hope she is up for the challenge.( but I hope she doesn’t have to be)
Ben brought up the conversation about Jen dressing up as Astrid & how she was disappointed in their son’s reaction. Ben basically gushed about Jen & that is why Hoda said what she said. But I think Hoda meant it that there is special love in your heart for the mother/father of your children. After it got lost in translation to Ben still loves Jen, now we are told that Lindsay & Ben ” have a caring relationship and healthy lifestyle together.” ( I hope that is true)
But did you ever hear the saying “want to make a Lie seem true? Say it again. And again. And again.”
Best decision Shookus made was to bail on the cheating bloated drunk Ben.
Why not let Jen clean up his mess? Jen lives for that and Shookus was smart to bail. The stupid choice Shookus made was coming back.
But she is back again with the same cheating bloated drunk Ben. I don’t believe he can change. He will cheating, smoking, gambling and maybe drinking. Jen is not his legal wife now and maybe she won’t have the legal right to clean his mess again. I think his parents and his brother are his closest relatives now.
This People article is almost verbatim what an article about Garner and John Miller a month ago or so said. I think I read about it on this site actually. I remember the term healthy being used more than once. Wonderful,caring probably too. Seems like either Ben is in relationship competition with her or is trolling her. Either way, like everyone said when she did it, we really don’t need your constant updates guys.
@Lena
You are right! And now In Touch is using “less complicated”..
Considering Lindsay looks like she has alcohol problems as well, I’m laughing at their “healthy lifestyle”. Which will last until we see him start to spiral and then grab another playboy enabler.
Lather, rinse, repeat. I’m buying popcorn.
He always look more drunken, sweaty, and recovering from a big night with her; that’s for sure.
Watched the Hoda interview no offense but is Ben really going to put down parts he doesn’t like about Jennifer. I think everyone just ran with it. Ben casually answered the question and said his kids were the most important. I also think Ben wants no bad blood now that they are divorced and are now in a new place in life. I think Shookus is firing back because Jennifer always has the upper hand due to the kids and how far Ben plays along. Jennifer’s PR always mentions how much Ben enjoys their time together kids and herself. That narrative is old obviously Ben wanted out of the marriage and had no problem showing it.
I don’t think Ben getting back with Lindsay had anything to do with Jen having a “boyfriend.” He’s been with Lindsay off and on now for the last 5-6 years and was with her for nearly a year last year before Jennifer reportedly got with John Miller. I don’t think Ben cares about Jen’s love life. He’s probably just happy to be officially divorced so he can date (or do whatever with whomever)
I get such a mean vibe from her. I can’t imagine her in a caring relationship. *Shrug*