Not all divorces are bitter, some just make you more grateful for each other!
Ben Affleck recently confessed that the "biggest regret" in his life is his split with Jennifer Garner, who stood by him like a rock when he needed her the most. He was promoting his movie The Way Back in which he plays a basketball coach who is struggling with alcoholism and coping up with a failed marriage. Playing a character as such would have been an emotional experience for the Batman star as in his personal life too he had to go through similar challenges.
Speaking to The New York Times, he admitted, “The biggest regret of my life is this [his and Garner's] divorce. Shame is really toxic. There is no positive byproduct of shame. It’s just stewing in a toxic, hideous feeling of low self-worth and self-loathing.”
His alcohol addiction proved to be detrimental to their relationship and he pushed it to a point where bringing things back to normal did not seem likely. “I drank relatively normally for a long time,” he told the outlet. “What happened was that I started drinking more and more when my marriage was falling apart. This was 2015, 2016. My drinking, of course, created more marital problems.”
They decided to separate but Garner was not ready to abandon him completely. Even when he was in rehab, she supported him and stood by his side for the sake of their three children Violet, 14, Seraphina, 11, and Sam, 8. She stuck by him because their love was real and "it wasn’t for the cameras," according to Vanity Fair.
In another interview with PEOPLE, the Gone Girl star candidly opened up about how he feels about his ex-wife, Jennifer Garner. He revealed that he is very respectful of her and is grateful for having her support him to attain sobriety. “I’m very grateful and respectful of her,” he says of Garner. “Our marriage didn’t work, and that’s difficult. Both of us really believe that it’s important for kids to see their parents respect one another and get along, whether they’re together or not.”
“When you have children with somebody you’re connected to them forever,” said Affleck, who was married to the actress for ten years. “And I’m very lucky she is the mother of my children.”
He also recalls the time when his parents parted ways and how tough it was for him but he believes his kids are more appreciative of the truth. “My parents got divorced when I was young and I know how painful that is, and I knew that they [my kids] would have to go through that publicly. But kids are resilient. They appreciate the truth.”
However, Garner and Affleck are committed to co-parenting and want to set an example for their kids. “It’s important for my kids to know that I respect and care about Jen and she treats me the same way,” he says. “I have a lot of respect and gratitude toward her. And I wish her the very best.”
Talking about his upcoming film The Way Back he said that it’s an "uplifting movie.” “Yes, there is addiction and alcoholism and divorce and real problems that real people go through but it’s also about the way in which we can overcome adversity and we can change and grow.”
Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner have shown that you do not need to be a happily-in-love couple to inspire others, mutual respect could give a whole different meaning to your relationship even when you aren't together.
References:
https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2016/02/jennifer-garner-talks-kids-career-ben-affleck
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/18/movies/ben-affleck.html?smid=tw-nytimes&smtyp=cur
