Ben Affleck Opens Up About His Tragic Childhood

Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner's Hollywood romance might not have had a happy ending, but the exes have continued to work together for the sake of their three children: Violet, Seraphina, and Sam. As a matter of fact, many fans were surprised when Affleck publicly sent Garner a heartfelt message for Mother's Day back in May. "So happy to share these kids with you. Luckiest parents in the world. Thanks for all the good you do. Happy Mother's Day. Love, their Dad," he wrote, per People. And while Affleck has made it clear that fatherhood is very important to him, he also admitted to The Hollywood Reporter that his divorce from Garner has had its advantages as well as its disadvantages. Affleck noted, "For me, the movie was much more about the fact that — whether it's having lived enough years, having seen enough ups and downs, having had children and divorce — I'm at a point now in my life where I have sufficient life experience to bring to a role to make it really interesting for me."

With that said, though, Affleck just made a rather interesting, if not heartbreaking, admission about his own childhood. It might also be the reason why he's doing everything he can to be there for his three kids, for better or for worse.

In a new interview with WSJ Magazine, Ben Affleck opened up about the importance of having not one, but two parents present in a child's life, which the actor says is something he didn't always have in his own childhood. Affleck said, "It's important to have two parents for the rearing and upbringing of a child. The most important thing to me is to be a good father." The actor continued, "Boys need to be taught. How to behave, how to conduct yourself. What your values should be. The ways my father did that for me are really meaningful — as are the ways in which he was absent." He added that children need a father in their life for positive reinforcement, explaining, "I got that from my father — and missed it when he wasn't there. In some ways I was able to see both sides: growing up with — and without — a father."

Now, as far as how his ex Jennifer Garner feels about this, she did tell Vanity Fair back in 2015 that both she and Affleck are "completely in line with what we hope for them" when it comes to their children. In other words, it sounds like Affleck and Garner have aced their roles as co-parents better than they ever did as spouses. Now that's an Oscar-worthy role.