Ben Affleck's Comments About Marriage With Jennifer Garner Have Landed Him In Such Hot Water

Ben Affleck has decided to get candid about his divorce from Jennifer Garner. The former Hollywood It Couple split in 2015 after 10 years of being together. At the time, they did not cite the reason as to why they broke up, and their official statement indicated that while they're parting ways, they'll continue to co-parent their 3 children, Violet, Seraphina, and Samuel.

"We go forward with love and friendship for one another and a commitment to co-parenting our children, whose privacy we ask to be respected during this difficult time," the joint statement read, per Us Weekly. "This will be our only comment on this private, family matter."

Last year, after keeping matters about their split private, Affleck opened up to The New York Times and revealed that the "biggest regret of my life" was his split with Garner. "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," he said. "It's not particularly healthy for me to obsess over the failures — the relapses — and beat myself up. I have certainly made mistakes. I have certainly done things that I regret. But you've got to pick yourself up, learn from it, learn some more, try to move forward." And now that it seems that he has moved on with his former flame, Jennifer Lopez, Affleck reflects on how the divorce impacted his life in ways he never imagined.

Ben Affleck said staying married to Jennifer Garner made him feel "trapped"

Ben Affleck has mostly kept his struggles with alcoholism to the public, but in a recent interview on "The Howard Stern Show," the "Argo" actor talked about how he probably would have continued drinking if he didn't split from Jennifer Garner.

"Part of why I started drinking was because I was trapped," he divulged. He said that they should have parted ways earlier than they did, but decided to try and make it work for the sake of their kids. "I was like, 'I can't leave because of my kids, but I'm not happy, what do I do?' And what I did was [I] drank a bottle of scotch and fell asleep on the couch, which turned out not to be the solution," he shared, per Page Six. Eventually, though, they realized that they're setting a bad example to their kids, and they didn't want it to "be the model that our kids see of marriage."

Affleck also clarified that his split from Garner wasn't as dramatic as the media portrayed it to be and that he has nothing but love and respect for her. "We did it amicably. We did our best. Did we have moments of tension? ... Yes, but fundamentally it was always underpinned with a respect," he added. "We had a marriage that didn't work. This happens. She's somebody I love and respect, but to whom I shouldn't be married any longer."

If you or anyone you know is struggling with addiction issues, help is available. Visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website or contact SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).