When Ben Affleck graced our screens in the 1990s with Matt Damon, people all over swooned and fell in love with his good looks and acting. His presence in the tabloids and media hasn’t always just been due to his acting career. There are the dramatic stories of the two Jennifers in his life, as well as the melancholy shots of him that the paps captured. But regardless of all the highs and lows, you can’t deny that Ben Affleck is a Hollywood success story. Although he’s starred in a number of flops like “Gigli” and the Caped Crusader in “Justice League”, he still has a serious career and solid reputation as an Oscar-winning actor.
And although many just think he’s some basic frat guy, he was dealing with his own personal demons, as we all do. Today, he’s rekindled a romance with Jennifer Lopez and throughout the tragedies in his life, is now experiencing a major glow-up in both his personal life and career.
His dad struggled with substances
Growing up in a working-class neighborhood n Boston, Ben Affleck’s mom was a teacher and Harvard grad while his father taught him communist beliefs and a sense of justice. Still, Tim’s dad had his demons — alcohol, to be specific. In various interviews, he admitted that his dad spent all day drinking and developed resentment towards the wealthy since he never attained his own. When his dad finally got sober, he became an addiction counselor.
His parents divorced when he was a child
When Ben Affleck was 12 years old, his parents divorced as a result of a toxic dynamic. The first thing Ben felt was a relief, since he had such bad memories of the marriage. This resulted in Ben being raised by a single mom. Without a father figure to guide him into adolescence, Ben confronted some issues. He stopped taking school seriously and his grades declined as he “stopped caring” as he told the Hollywood Reporter.
A tragic family history
His dad’s not the only dark secret in Affleck’s past — his grandmother died by suicide, just like his uncle. Both of those family members had addiction issues and alcoholism, so fighting that urge to depend on substances wasn’t an easy process for Ben Affleck. He even admitted to Marc Maron that his brother, Casey Affleck, also struggled with alcohol. Tragedy even happened with his friend group — Ben’s childhood friend was stabbed as a child and many of his fellow classmates died young as they came from abusive homes.
His own brush with addiction
In a revealing article with Diane Sawyer, Ben Affleck admitted that he had his addiction issues but got sober in 2001. After casually picking up drinking again in 2003, he eventually suffered a relapse in 2012. His dad Timothy blames the entertainment industry for drinking, calling Hollywood “a disgusting place”. In 2019, we all saw the famous TMZ footage, and so did his kids. This humiliating moment led him to get help with the support of famous friends Robert Downey Jr. and Bradley Cooper.
A judgemental public
Though he remained an A-lister and stayed in the tabloids, there was a point at which no one wanted to hire him due to his personal life. Ultimately he sought out therapy but admitted that the paparazzi is what spurred his self-hate and made him be more critical of himself. But the scrutiny on his children is what he couldn’t bear, as they didn’t choose that A-lister lifestyle.
A scary brush with a stalker
In the late 2000s, Affleck’s whole family was targeted by a stalker who harassed Jennifer Garner and their kids, following the family around. In 2008, they eventually obtained a restraining order, after the stalker send death threats to Garner, visited the couple’s house many times, and even visited their kids’ school.
One of his close friends passed away
After meeting on the “Forces of Nature” set, Ben Affleck met Joe Kindregan, who suffered from a neurological disease with no cure. After fundraising and earning hundreds of thousands of dollars. In 2013, they celebrated Kindregan’s 25th birthday, but the young man passed away just two years later.
The famous divorce
Then the divorce between Jen and Ben happened. After 10 years of marriage, they called it quits in 2017. Other he called himself “trapped” and said the marriage was a trigger for his alcoholism, giving up on the union was tough for the actor, who was repeating the patterns of divorce in his family. With the “nannygate” cheating rumors after Affleck was revealed to be dating Christine Ouzounian, this scenario wreaked havoc.
Some #MeToo accusations
In the midst of the Harvey Weinstein debacle, a Twitter user reminded us all of that moment when Affleck groped her breast on-air during “TRL.” Although he kind of denied it on Stephen Colbert, John Mulaney’s ex Annamarie Tender says that he groped her at a party in 2014, and a TV writer named Jen Statsky also agreed that he groped women at that party.
Ben Affleck’s mental health struggles
Ben Affleck is no stranger to anxiety and depression. His childhood and career issues have led to issues. The actor has been open about the fact that he takes anti-depressants and has since he was 26 years old. He also said that certain anti-depressants caused him to gain weight. Although Affleck isn’t perfect, he’s spoken out about how mental illness is still stigmatized.
