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Ben Affleck: Divorcing Jennifer Garner is the "biggest regret of my life"

Photo credit: Jason Merritt/TERM - Getty Images
Photo credit: Jason Merritt/TERM - Getty Images

From Harper's BAZAAR

Ben Affleck has described the end of his marriage to Jennifer Garner the biggest regret of his life.

The couple separated in 2015, after 10 years of marriage, finalising their divorce in 2018. They have three children together, Samuel, 7, Seraphina, 11 and Violet, 14.

"The biggest regret of my life is this divorce," Affleck told the New York Times. "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."

Affleck has been in and out of rehab as he battled with alcoholism, issues which escalated during the breakdown of his relationship. His drinking habits weren't always unhealthy, but they worsened as he struggled emotionally.

Photo credit: Christopher Polk - Getty Images
Photo credit: Christopher Polk - Getty Images

"I drank relatively normally for a long time," he said. "What happened was that I started drinking more and more when my marriage was falling apart," he said. "This was 2015, 2016. My drinking, of course, created more marital problems.

"I wish it didn't happen. I really wish it wasn't on the internet for my kids to see," he added. "Jen and I did our best to address it and be honest."

In a post-split interview in 2016, Garner described Affleck as the "love of my life", but a "complicated guy. I always say, 'When his sun shines on you, you feel it.' But when the sun is shining elsewhere, it's cold. He can cast quite a shadow."

While Affleck is clearly feeling reflective about the past, he doesn't want to dwell on it.

"It’s not particularly healthy for me to obsess over the failures — the relapses — and beat myself up,” he said. “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.”

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