These are photos of Ben Affleck and Lindsay Shookus going out for pizza last night at a place called Pizzeria Mozza in Hollywood. They look over it both in the photos where they’re headed for dinner and afterwards, when Ben looks like he’s in a mood and Lindsay has her head down. He did hold open Lindsay’s car door for her, which was surprising given his inability to hold her bags while they’re traveling. Meanwhile The Garner-Afflecks are still playing their breakup games through the press. Affleck is still seeing Lindsay Shookus, although he arguably tried to go undercover with her to Maine, and his side is still leaking insider quotes about how great his new relationship is. (In comparison to all the years with Jen I’m assuming.) Yesterday we heard that Affleck was spotted out twice with Shookus over the weekend at a liquor store in Maine. Given that his position as Batman is in jeopardy and that he just went through rehab in March, this does not look good. It’s ok though! Affleck is in luvre, according to E! News, which has glowing quotes about his relationship with Shookus . They also reveal that Affleck and Shookus were visiting her family there. So the booze two days in a row was a gift, right? E! never mentions the trips to the liquor store.
“He really enjoys spending time with Lindsay,” a source told us. “They went to Maine together for a quick weekend with her family and friends.”
The couple was spotted at a Tony’s Foodland grocery store in Naples after having grabbed a coffee at the nearby Dunkin Donuts. A local resident spotted Affleck in the parking lot and asked for a photo, telling E! News he was “nothing short of a gentleman and super sweet.”
Meanwhile, another source told us the couple has “a few more small trips planned in the coming weeks and will be meeting up all over the place.”
The insider noted that Affleck is “really happy” with Shookus and loves spending time with her.
“The fact that they have gone public with their relationship and can do normal things is a huge relief,” the source added. “They are enjoying hanging out and doing everyday things like going to get coffee or out to dinner. He thinks she is very witty and charming and loves her company.”
Following his divorce from Jennifer Garner, the insider explained that Ben “has felt very alone for a long time,” and therefore, “having someone and a new relationship is exciting.”
And apparently Shookus feels the exact same as our source noted, “They are really into each other and miss each other like crazy after a few days. Since they both have kids and work, it makes it a little bit challenging. But things are going very well between them, and they won’t let more than a few days pass without meeting up again.
We get it, we’ve heard it multiple times. Lindsay is the cool chick for now, until she pisses Ben off and he gives her the silent treatment while rotating in the next one. They’ve been on-off for a few years, Lindsay has stuck around and she knows how deal with Ben’s disappearances and lower her expectations. This is the payoff and for now they’re back in the idealization phase.
Meanwhile you know what Jen did? She stepped out arm in arm with Ben Affleck’s mom. (You can see the photo on ET’s site.) It’s possible that Ben’s mom was just visiting and that there’s no way for Jen to avoid the paparazzi, hence these pictures. However they’re from an agency that we don’t hear about often, and the regular agency which photographs the Garner-Afflecks didn’t have these pictures. Maybe it’s happenstance that she was caught out with Ben’s mom. It’s also possible that this was perfectly timed to show Ben that Jen has been there all along, that she’s his children’s mother, and that Ben’s family is on her side.
My weekend was pretty special! For my 17th anniversary, my hubby took a pic of me with Ben Affleck! ❤️#maine #summer #anniversary #batman pic.twitter.com/WwVuGphMCx
— JessiKa (@jurassika365) July 31, 2017
photos credit: Backgrid
So basically all of these people are crazy….
That pretty much sums it up.
Yes someone needs to let Jen know she isn’t Debbie Reynolds circa 1957. She’s not a victim. She’s much better off. She has a career, she’s got a decent net worth. She needs to let him sink in his own BS. Focus on her kids and career. Stop playing PR games.
Exactly. Move on Jen. Move on.
Amen. How gullible does she think the public is? Cheap theatrics like this *affectionate* scene with Ben’s mother are disgusting, and she’s clearly using his mother to make a point: Look at me — I’m the innocent, wholesome family girl, while Ben is the dissolute, cold-hearted abandoner of his family. I can’t stand dead-eyed Ben Affleck, never could, but now I’ve lost whatever sympathy I may have had for her.
Yep. I have no words for Jen. I tried to be sympathetic but this move is so over the top I question her sanity.
Gotta agree, Magnoliarose.
On The vidéo With Garner/Affleck’s mom ,I think they look more “affectionate” and more smiling when they see the paps.I don’t think that it is a RP stunt .They just overact “so happy to be together”
where this video can be seen? and how do we know One held the car door open for Lindsay? where’s the video of that?
Didn’t see the video, but in the gallery of photos they were walking 10 miles apart until JG reached out to give her a hug before going to her car.
Eh, there was quite a bit more than that, and it was very mutual. Chris even laid her head on Jennifer’s shoulder, Jennifer loaned her sunglasses to Chris, as well, and Chris’s arm is clearly hugging Jen around the back and shoulder. They are clearly still close. I am very close with my ex MIL – she isn’t responsible for her son’s bad behavior and she is very good to my kids, so….
I dunno sometimes you like your ils better than your ex-husband. Jen Aniston still kept in touch with Brad’s mom when they split up. Maybe not anymore but I remember pics of them together.
The pics are so staged I am sure there is a soundtrack.
Lolol, best comment on this thread! Wish I’d said that. And I’m sure I will.
HIS FACE.
classic drunk face. Red as a baboon’s a**.
They both seem alcoholic-ish. Maybe he’s going though his Whose Afraid of Virginia Woolf phase.
lolololol
Ben looks like he’s been rode hard and hung up wet
So does she.
She looks three sheets to the wind in that last pic.
I dunno. They look like they’re on a downward spiral together. They always look half in the bag. Why can’t Ben just be alone for a hot minute? I think he needs to work on himself.
Jennifer is calculating and thus, also annoying. Those pap walks are intentional. She also has terrible fashion sense. Also needs to lay low and work on herself.
He looks a mess. Like seriously he’s a mess. BUT they are reallyyyyyyyy pushing this “new” relationship narrative along. I don’t think anyone is buying it but okay.
I wonder if bens mom is there to smooth things over for ben (would not suprise me) or to help jen with the kids.
Jen and the grandchildren must be a relief from her husband and sons messes.
I would be so bitter to see my family falling in second generation alcoolism and public sexual harassment allegations in the same year with double divorce.
Same here. But something tells me that she is used to cleaning up the messes of her sons and husband.
Yah, because now, Casey’s getting a divorce. Great, right?
Then maybe Chris should take a long hard look at herself and the environment that she raised her sons in. They were exposed to their drunk father’s antics and their mother’s enabling until they were teenagers. There are reasons both of her sons grew up to be like this. Kids learn what they live. Whoever said that both married women like their mother was right, and in this case that’s not good. Unfortunately the cycle will be doomed to repeat itself in the kids. More alcoholics, more infidelity, more enabling spouses, etc.
@bb thank you! Ben and Casey’s mom isn’t innocent in this. I’d keep her at a distance if I were Jen – don’t let her f–k up another generation
WOW. @BB and @Olive I hope no one around you ever struggles with addiction because you lack the compassion, understanding and intellect to be of any help to anyone. I’m sorry for anyone burdened with being around such ignorance and malice.
@scout Chris enabled her drunk husband for years and raised her sons in that environment. It’s fact and both Casey and Ben have talked about it. Both are alcoholics themselves and totally screwed up. If their mother had half of a backbone she would have protected them better. The truth hurts, huh? I feel sorry for anyone burdened by having an enabling, spineless mother who won’t do what’s best for her kids.
@Wendy
It must be a burden just being you, huh? If only you could have saved Ben and his mother with your wisdom and grace. His mother used her Harvard education and degree to be the primary provider for those boys their entire lives up until they began their careers. She was married to a man until Ben was 12, though they had not lived together for years and years, and that man was an alcoholic who never supported the family. But that’s her fault and shows she is weak, right? Despite not ever actually having lived alone with their dad they did inherit his genetic disposition to addictive behaviors. But that’s his mom’s fault, 1,000%. Gotchya. She protected them, raised them and did everything possible for their health and safety, but she is an enabler who destroyed their lives? Oh honey, I’ll pray for you.
@Scout Hi, Jen. Go tuck Chris in, pour yourself a glass of wine and plot your next pap stroll.
My take is that Jen is keeping up a normal front with grandma for the kids. She may or may not genuinely care for her but if she wants her kids to have a relationship with their grandparents, hanging out comes with the territory, at least until the kids are old enough to reach out to the grandparents on their own.
My friend is going through this and she isn’t dealing with divorce but the death of her husband. She cannot stand her MIL, who was awful to her and her husband when he was alive, but she doesn’t think it’s right to deny the woman access to her grandkids, who love her and were mostly oblivious to the bottled up tension. So for now she is he conduit between them and says she’s counting the years until they’re old enough to deal with her on their own if they choose.
All his women have bad shoes game. Warner Bros must be looking for a replacement solution very vigorously
His more recent ones. JLo doesn’t have bad shoe game.
Goop doesn’t have bad shoe game either.
the first and second pair most men look at isn’t usually the shoes, so i doubt this is a downside for him.
ahahahahahaha.
awesome, detritus! lol.
1. That blue jacket is an atrocity and should be burned
2. Lindsay is not a particularly beautiful woman, if we’re going off Ben’s presumably shallow beauty standards. I guess she’s just the “cool girl” (which is a myth, btw) and that’s why it works.
Oh he’s shallow and vein cause she is the spitting image of him with a blonde wig.
I agree with 1., but 2?
Do you really think so? I mean she’s not made up to high heavens all the time, which in comparison may make her look dowdy, but I’d say she is very pretty.
I mean she has a great figure, takes care of her skin and dresses flatteringly, just doesn’t do the makeup thing.
To me, she just has some really strong/sharp features that look a little more masculine. I don’t mean that *I* don’t find her attractive, I just assume that she’s not really Ben’s type because she’s not conventionally beautiful. No big eyes and supple lips like J Lo and J Gar.
Goop doesn’t have those features. I think Shookus has the same kind of general look that she does. And anyway I think all women are Ben’s “type.”
hmmm I think maybe its different tastes then maybe. I find her about as appealing as Goop or Jenn G, but I like a sharper angular face.
I think it’s ok to call a spade a spade. She’s by no means strikingly beautiful. I do think you attract what you put out and he was seeking some enabling and there you have it – Shookus.
I agree with Detritus. Lindsay is very beautiful in my eyes! Not to mention I’d love to have a drink with her. She just shines to me (sorry but cool girls are real, and she seems like she’d be a blast to be with!)
Have you ever seen Garner’s cringeworthy interviews? I think most professional women would have an advantage over her in the intelligence department, and probably less fake too. She lacks class and sophistication.
I actually find Lindsay far prettier than Jen G. Maybe not as pretty as J-Lo, but more attractive to me, just in a different way. To each their own!
Jlo is unfair attractive. The kind that comes from awesome genes, stupid amounts of money and a very good plastic surgeon.
Really into each other? I believe you meant ‘really into scotch and cocaine’.
I shouldn’t have laughed at this but I did. Loudly.
LOL. When I read “witty and charming,” I automatically added “and a partier.”
Hmm so all of these people who praised Jen for handling the divorce and said that she will never use the media or her children for PR games, still agree?
This woman constantly gets papped, goes out so celebrity places and now is being pictured by her ex mother in law just as Ben is showing the world his relationship..
Are you still going to claim that they aren’t playing the PR game using whatever they have at their disposal?
I don’t, maya, are you still going to take serious issue with how this woman lives her life or is this just a one off judgemental nugget?
I feel bad for Ben’s mom in a way. She is watching her son make the same bad life choices that his father did. I can’t blame her for wanting to stay close to Jen and maintain her relationship with her grandchildren.
This. I think Jen and Ben’s mom might share this common concern, even if Ben’s and Jen’s PR pap walking is so stupid. Other than that, it is just another clumsy Hollywood ending.
Jen needs to get a life. She’s showing that she’s still obsessed with Ben and all things related to him. What does she really think that she gains with the pap stroll with his mom? Like he cares. She still doesn’t have Ben, which is what she wants. He’s still going to the moon and back to be with his mistress. She needs to move on — I think she’s venturing into Betty Broderick territory here.
I find JG very irritating. Not excusing his behavior, at all.
@minx. I agree. He is a mess. However, I can not live through another Jennifer Aniston 2.0 and another long-suffering, never ending “poor Jen” media story.
Lindsay?
You’re kidding right?? Obsessed because she was seen with his mother, the grandmother to her 3 kids??! Yes I admit the pap walk could have been avoided but calling out Jennifer for this is bullsh*t. She has known Ben’s mother for years and I can imagine both provided comfort for the sh*t he caused and did. So what if she still hangs with her… after 3 kids and so many experiences you don’t just sever ties. Jesus perhaps she is trying to live her life and make sure hateful ppl like you know she is happy and moving on. Jennifer is not my favorite but you’re projecting.
So Jen continues to have a great relationship with her mother-in-law and is happy to keep her close to her grandchildren. Sounds like a win for everyone to me.
Nobody is making fun of her great relationship with his mom. That has continued throughout the separation since 2015. I’m making fun of the set-up pap stroll all huggy with his mom when Ben is seen with his girlfriend again. It’s odd and shows a woman still obsessed with Ben, to my eyes. Look here, Lindsay, his mom loves me.
It’s not about their relationship. It’s about the clearly staged pap stroll and the reasoning behind it.
I don’t think that’s the reasoning behind it, though. The tabloids have been creating drama with the Jen’s gonna tell all and get revenge and how she is embarrassed by Ben’s “flaunting” his new girl.
This very mutually friendly walk with Ben’s mom puts that away. She isn’t going to spill on Ben and she is still great friends with his mother. I think this puts back on track the message we’ve seen all along about their divorce — we will get along well and be friends and great co-parents. It’s effective in that vein, IMO.
Also, there were “quotes” that went along with the original story on ET and it states that Jen is not embarrassed and she is just focusing on her kids and is strong. It was refuting the victim story, not enhancing it.
Talk about a hot take.
Nothing Jen has done is anywhere close to Betty Broderick. I don’t think she wants Ben back. I think she wants to keep her kids lives free from his drama.
I like JG but all this energy should be put on reviving her career if she still can. Let Ben spiral down on his since he is already doing a great job already.
Pap strolls are her career now and have been for ages. If she put as much energy into her career as she does playing these tabloid games she might still get good film work.
Funny part is she’s a much better actor than him. She would do well just focusing on her career.
Yet can she focus on her career? Let’s not kid ourselves that Ben is picking up 50% of the parenting duties. If Ben, as he certainly appears to be, is active addiction now, then the kids need more of her time and attention, not less, to deal with him not being healthy and around.
Oh come on the woman is a multimillionaire. She has access to whatever childcare she needs and she is also going out on a photo op with her ex MIL which is basically a performance for PR purposes. If she wants to be in the spotlight I’d personally have much more respect if she just was working and not doing the tit for tat with her d-bag ex. That’s just my opinion.
Movies take months, appear to be pretty much 7 days a week, and often long (10-14) hours per day. Her kids were looked after by workers when she filmed the movie the summer after the split. She was seen in her time off doing things with them, as well. That had to be exhausting and difficult. Also, with Ben’s current behavior, the emotional needs have to be pretty heavy. I know when I split, my kids needed me around a lot and it was tough as I worked full time. Childcare isn’t the best answer when your kids need a parent.
Talking a walk for an hour or so isn’t quite the same thing as time spent making movies.
Plus, she for a very small number of roles for women her age in Hollywood – work for the sake of work no matter the quality of the project?
She can take all the walks she needs but it’s specifically the performance for the cameras. Publicly sending a message to Ben. That’s what we are critical of. If she wants a close relationship with her ex MIL great but the games they are playing with paparazzi is immature. I’m not going to call her Betty Broderick but I’ll just say she’s really hamming it up. And a performance for the camera of sorts so she does need to put that energy somewhere else and maybe just doing an acting gig will help her to release all the BS.
Lol this completely reminds me of Debbie Reynolds and it’s just so so immature and transparent.
I am serious when I say this is one move too many. He is a mess and it is over. If my ex did that I would run further away.
His mom is Grandma. Grandmas are important to kids.
Look, when you really love someone (narcissist, addict, etc.), the most loving thing you can ever do for yourself or them is to leave them be, exactly as they are. By loving yourself enough to call it quits and move on with your life, you also fully allow them to remain their same toxic, smug, artificially superior selves they have always been. Loving someone unconditionally — in this sort of instance — many times means respecting the other person’s desire to remain a BAD person so much that you absolutely have to walk away and stop trying to change, improve, or in any way “better” them. That’s it!
He is what he is, does what he does. And it certainly wasn’t Jen’s fault.
She is living a good, clean and productive life…and so is he.. maybe. Anything is possible. Peace
Ben’s mom is always going to choose her grandchildren over Ben’s girlfriends. She will remain on good terms with Jen, and really, why shouldn’t she? Ben destroyed his marriage. His mother knows this. So, it’s not PR to see them out together and interacting.
Ben & Lindsay are a mess. An alcoholic and an enabler. Also…when does Lindsay see her own child?
I think it might just be 2 alcoholics…
@ The Original Mia, Yes, when does Lindsay see her own child? You took the words out of my mouth.
Before this weekend we hadn’t seen Shookus since July 20. Where was she all that time? Prob in NYC with her child. It’s really not that complicated.
All players need to stop. It’s reaching a level of absurdity and desperation and there will be no winners here. I think Jennifer needs time in therapy too because she’s either addicted to Ben or Machiavellian in a none of us can comprehend.
Yeah. This is like next-level thirst. I honestly don’t think that Jen will ever move on with someone else.
I swear Jen could have gone another two-and-a-half years without sex (like this separation) and/or dating if it meant she was still the main woman in Ben’s life as far as holidays, Jen and Ben’s pap walks with the kids together, Ben living in the guest quarters, thus making the other women he dates now always pushed back in the shadows. She can’t handle Ben moving on..
‘Nobody puts baby in a corner.” LOL
ITA Jayna and Jen Garner is actually starting to creep me out with all of this. She needs to move on and stop doing photoshoots for tabloids. Get a boyfriend. Something. It’s not a coincidence that just as the news broke that Ben was in Maine with Shookus and her family and friends, Jen is out hugging her ex mother in law. Scary.
@Jayna More like, “I’m not going to be IGNORED, Ben” and boiling bunnies on the stove.
I am glad I am not the only one that finds this disturbing. Whatever he does is not her business anymore. Whatever we think of Ben or his physical state he is not wrong to be seen with his gf. This is like she is telling him he will never ever get away from her. Yikes
Every day this story continues, no one here is getting MORE interesting.
When i see the pics of them together all I can think of is LEAVING LAS VEGAS.
Good call, Neelyo. Yikes…:(
Ben, what happened to wellness and family? Is family spending time with your new mistress?
Ben looks awful. Going to liquor stores? Good grief. I guess I’m insensitive and judgy because I do not understand this guy and his so-called “demons” AT ALL. He’s got three beautiful kids and more fame, money, and adulation than his looks or talent warrant but he doesn’t seem to appreciate what he has. (Note: I am not talking about Jen. Clearly he is over his marriage, which is his prerogative. He’s not obligated to stay married to her if he doesn’t want to be married to her.) But no I don’t buy it’s normal and A-OK for a father of 3 with a history of addiction to go to liquor stores.
As for Jen, MOVE ON! Lay low for a bit. Or at least don’t make a big production of being pap’d with Ben’s mom. Spend time with your kids. It’s unfortunate that their dad is a self-involved ass but you can’t save him and you can’t protect your kids from the truth about their dad. To quote President Cheeto: Sad!
I wonder if Bens’ mom hung out at all with him and his “new” girlfriend. Maybe it’s the week to “meet the kids” and she’s there for a buffer.
As sad as this seems to be, it may get worse, I still think she may be/want to be pregnant.
I kinda wonder if she’s pregnant, too. Gossip Cop has denied a couple of those stories but what GC prints is not exactly the truth, just what their “sources”/celeb pr teams tell them to print. I suspect that’s why he’s pushing her in the press so hard — give everyone time to get used to the idea of her before they announce. I read a blind item on CDAN yesterday (I know, I know) that Casey’s wife Summer filed because Casey got his gf pregnant. The Affleck brothers’ lives continue to mirror each other if all this is true.
Casey’s Scientologist gf pregnant? Oh boy…he’s got a ticket to Scientology hell for life if this is true. It would fit they way Scientology works though. They can’t get people to get recruited to the cult like they did in the past, so they just procreate new scientologists.
That poor Affleck mama. what went so wrong?
Yea I saw a blind about that as well. The Afflecks continue to be terrible
Why is it terrible if Floriana Lima is pregnant? The Casey-Summer marriage has been over for years. Why they didn’t file before now is their own business I guess, but I think Summer has a boyfriend, too. It’s not a big deal IMO.
@A: it’s terrible bc Casey is a goddamn rapist. Yeah I’ll say it.
Casey sexually harassed two women who worked for him but he did not rape anybody.
If as it appears they’re drinking when together (and living on separate coasts where their existing children are?)…please, God, don’t let this happen.
I think there is something off on my computer’s colors or something because they both look very orange in coloring to me, more than the usual tan.
Gonna get the kidlet to check it out.
is called “drunken bloat” saturation. Is ok, is not your screen.
They both appear a shade of red that is not sunburn. Partyburn, more like.
My theory is that since they have been together off and on over 3 yrs that their relationship involves a lot of partying and i highly doubt Ben is sober. The visit to rehab was more to rehab his image not to deal with addiction issues. I also dont think he really cares if he’s Batman again. And for all know maybe him and lindsay ended previous affair in an attempt to save marriages and when that was failing they are all in on this new relatationship and they are continuing as they were before – travelling and partying.
the rehab IMO was exclusively aimed to two things:
1) to show a signal to W Bros. that he’ll get on track again. They fired him as director and writer for the Batman,, he was (and still is, now more than even) this close to lose the actor job as well.
2) to be able to file for joint custody for the kids.
It had nothing to do with a real and genuine desire to stop drinking and get well. It was more operatic and instrumental to those two goals, which he clumsily achieved so now he’s free to be “himself”. I doubt a judge will give him joint custody if he’s still drinking, I think Garner must be regretting the friendly divorce filing because she’s risking her kids will end up being around their alcoholic father, because he never got really sober. A two week stint in rehab and the way he looks now, with his enabling mistress buying booze is enough for a judge to keep him away from his kids.
I think the divorce will get ugly, because I can’t see Garner letting her children near their drunken father and his mistress.
If Ben is truly not sober then the courts can make him submit to regular sobriety tests. As for his “enabling” mistress, Jen doesn’t actually have much room to talk as she was Ben’s enabler for more than a decade. Not just the booze, but the rumors of pill addiction, gambling addiction, compulsive lying, etc — she enabled him through it all. Even letting him live in the guest house was enabling. And let’s be real: she’d still be in that position right now if Ben would have her. She can’t actually control who Ben introduces to their kids, no more than Ben can control who Jen dates and has around them.
“the divorce will get ugly, because I can’t see Garner letting her children near their drunken father and his mistress.”
Well, she allowed Ben to spend 10 years with her kids and continued to have more children with him while being a cheating drug, alcohol and gambling addict. But then people just called it his “demons”. She chose to stay claiming she is doing it for her children. Studies have shown for decades that staying with a parent who is an uncontrolled addict is usually worst for children than getting a divorce. You end up normalizing their behavior which will be bad role-modeling for your children. So…,
Additionally they have been separated for 2 years and have filed for a divorce so I’m not sure “mistress” is the current term for who he is dating now. Only the children are innocent and blame-free in this situation.
I think he is just gross, bloated and ridiculous looking. If he is drinking again that’s unfortunate. However, He just annoys the living day lights out of me for some reason and I do side eye how they got together. Why is she never seen with her kid (s)? Did she just abandon them?
On a side note, what does she have going on with her right leg in the photos? It looks painful whatever it is. Could it be a psoriasis or eczema breakout?
It’s a port wine birthmark. I have one on my arm.
Oh I see that now. I had a friend in high school that had a port wine mark on her face. Thanks!
Heart attack on the way. He did this same thing when he broke up with J-Lo.
I think it is great that Jen and Ben’s mom have such a good relationship! If Jen was putting on a show for the paps , Ben’s mother sure played right along! I bet both Jen & Ben’s moms are great grandmas!
This had to be a hard week for Ben’s mother what with Summer filing for divorce from Casey and worrying about Ben and his sobriety! As a mother, we always want the best for our children!
Agree, his mother seems like a nice person who has had a lot of challenges in her life.
WHat is with these Affleck wives hanging on for years well after their affleck husband has moved on? Casey affleck has been photographed on romantic vacations with his new girlfriend and it seems they have been openly dating for awhile. What is with these wives holding on so hard to these dogs?!
It’s great but sad. These men clearly go for women that can be their rock when they go off and go self-destruct knowing they can always can home to a warm nest. The Afflecks are continuing whatever they saw in their parents’ marriage. They married their mother basically.
As for the women, they are probably attracted to men they can ‘fix’, very common. They’re independent in every aspect except for their men. OF COURSE JG and Ben’s mom are very friendly. They have a common issue and probably similar personalities. People can fault JG for a lot and I believe she can be calculating etc… but she’s not a mean person for the sake of being mean. They’re probably nurturing each other.
I hope Summer Phoenix is included in this group although we would never know, she’s super private. I think growing up in the Phoenix family and their insane life did a number on all of them and I cannot imagine it’s easy for them to have a ‘normal’ relationship. I think JG and Ben’s mom can be a good support for Summer, it certainly won’t be her brother as Casey was cheating and harassing other women in the presence of Joaquin which is just beyond vile.
They both look drunk
For a guy who loves his cars and loves to drive in LA, for the past months he’s been using limo services a lot, and exclusively. I’d say that the last time he was spotted driving was months ago. But of course he’s sober right? Because one recovering alcoholic after the shortest stint in rehab ever (what is like a couple of weeks in rehab or so?) is allowed to have a night out and a drink or two, that’s probably what this Lindsay woman is telling him.
When I look at them I see a pile of empty bottles and an unmade bed.
and to add to the nasty and decadent image: empty bottles of SKINNY girl MARGARITAS….how sad is that? getting drunk with THAT sh*t is what is really sad.
…cosign that mix is vile, just tried it last weekend, it was all that was left on the drink mix shelf at target…one sip and i poured it out!
Jen photo with Ben’s mother is the latest iteration of the iconic photo of Debbie Reynolds with a safety pin holding her blouse together during the awesome Debbie, Liz, Eddie scandal. With that one picture Debbie secured her image as the eternal and virtuous good girl/ keeper- of-the-home-fires-burning/mother while the weak, compromised husband/father runs off with evil incarnate, the seductive temptress/eternal bad girl, Liz Taylor, Lindsey.
LOL
Debbie milked it initially, but she did remarry a year later. She didn’t play it out for years, which is what seems to be Jen’s plan.
So, the only sign that a woman has moved on is that she is dating someone else? I thought we had moved on from those stereotypes…apparently not. Maybe she really isn’t interested in dating because she is enjoying the freedom of not having to pander to some man’s whims and take care of another should-be-functioning adult?
It really is possible to be complete, happy and fulfilled without being in a romantic relationship. Really and truly!
If she had truly moved on she wouldn’t be engaging in these ridiculous shows for the paps, just to stick it to Ben. Glad to see from the comments that I’m not the only one who feels this way.
Pap strolls portraying the dutiful mother are what indicate she’s still milking this situation, after nearly three years of back and forth narratives on the dissolution of this union. Her dating status has nothing to do with it. She is choosing to drag out a certain narrative.
I just don’t understand – making all these trips all over the country – what about their kids ? They both have children right? Maybe it’s just because I can’t go to get the mail without my children in my space but it seems like time with the kids is kinda worked in there like an afterthought “if my travels around the world with my bf/gf happen to land me near the city where my kids are I’ll spend a little time with them.” Jen’s career
may not be so hot but you can’t deny she prioritizes being with her children .
I was thinking this too. Plus it is summer vacation, so kids are home a lot (assuming no camp or not much camp). I think this woman would give up custodial rights to her child to be with BA, just like that woman with Simon Cowell did with her first born. Just cannot imagine.
Ben made $43million in 2015 alone. Jen can prioritize being with her kids because she doesn’t have to work. That’s a luxury that she has because of the money that Ben continues to make. Let’s not act like she’s sacrificing anything valuable to her to be at home with them like a normal person. Most people these days can’t afford to have one parent stay at home and still live a life of uber wealth. She’s not some kind of saint bc she spends time with her kids. Most of us would, if we could.
I think Jen overplayed her hand here with Ben’s mom. It was obviously a staged outing, maybe Chris was in on it, prob not. Ben has obviously moved on and is not checking for her or her activities. This little photoshoot that she did with Chris was just… sad. She needs to get a new hobby and stop focusing on all things Ben.
In the photos, Chris is being very affectionate – and they both saw the cameras. It was an intentional show of support for Jen. Interesting that she (Chris) felt that needed to be done.
Hello Jen, I guess she knows very well that if she doesn’t play nice, there is no grandkids time for her.
Chris and Jen have always appeared close. I really didn’t think anything of the pictures as they have been photographed being affectionate on other occasions. I actually thought they were just trying to send the message that all is good – we are still a functioning family. I don’t think Jen is obsessed with Ben, she fought for her marriage and now it is over. She has kept to her normal routine. Ben actually seems obsessed with his relationship with Lindsay. I don’t think he cares about anything else at this point. Jen said he can’t be alone and it appears that is true. It probably does feel good for him not to hide anymore. I have a feeling they have been doing the weekend getaways in obscure places for a long time.
@Sandie, I don’t believe for a second she would prohibit her kids’ grandmother from being an active part of their lives out of spite or meanness. And no, not Jen. Chris is not an actress, and the genuineness of her feelings for Jen were evident in the photos.
It’s kind of funny how everyone is pretending that Jen’s publicist( probably) went on a tirade to the NY post about Ben leaving her for someone from ‘nowhere NY’. She’s livid and it’s not a coincidence that she’s getting photographed with his mom. Also not a coincidence that Ben and Lindsay are doing their alcoholism across the USA tour. Both are playing really mean spirited games for the press. Neither side is considering the kids. Oh and I’ll bet it will be a long time until we see another family vacation with Jen and Ben being cordial for the kids. Because they are both being selfish jerks.
@cassie and @sandy for one time I have to agree that even if the affection was overplayed and a little bit acted out for the paps, I doubt mama Affleck would agree to a completely orchestrated and fake show of affection like this. I think it was genuine, specially from mama Affleck, she probably felt the need to show the world that she is there for her grandkids and for her ex daughter in law and that probably is as much as disappointed and blindsided by her son’s actions as Garner, or any of us, for that matter.
When there are grandkids involved , most grandparents stay close to the mother.and most mother stay close to the grandparents divorced or not. Even in remarriages that relationship does not go away, Affleck is still a drunk and that woman is just a plaything. Anytime a woman walks behind a man and not s by his side shows how important he is to her, Most men would walk beside her or arm in arm. I don’t see any affection between either.She is allowing herself to be used by Affleck. His addiction is his love right now
If this was a photo shoot, I don’t think Ben’s mom would be into that (but who knows?)
IMO I think they ate just trying to go about their day and the paps are there waiting. I don’t feel she has to even bother to call the paps. (but who knows?)
Also, Ben and Lindsay were papped later that evening at the comedy club.
I remember hearing yrs. back when Jen was on location filming and Ben was supposed to be watching them, he called his mom to watch them. (Who knows if that is true, but it somehow sounds like something he would do!) I think Chris was/is the peacekeeper for them.
Hopefully Ben will spend some time with his mom this week!
I’m no giant Ben Affleck fan but this must be said: I’m getting a little tired of the comments about him not doing 50% of the parenting. He’s been working. Someone has to. They don’t live in a $45M mansion and have two luxury vacation homes because of her Capital One commercials. I assume they also have a schedule of when each one has the kids. He didn’t have the kids this weekend (they were with Jen at church) so he went to Maine. Not a big deal. I also think it’s unfair that just bc we don’t have pap pics of him with the kids that people assume he doesn’t see them. I’m sure he does, he just doesn’t drag them in front of photogs like his ex-wife likes to. If Jen can take time out of her Doting, Loving Mother Schedule to arrange a timely pap stroll with Chris, then I think we can cut Ben a break for being on another continent for a month working to keep his kids and ex-wife in the lifestyle to which they have become accustomed. *gets off of soapbox*
Really?
I have read that Summer Phoenix has had to jump start her acting career because Casey wasn’t giving her enough money (maybe that’s why she finally filed?). I think it would be interesting to observe the Ben-Jen divorce if they didn’t have quite so much money at their disposal. Jen having to cut short her pap strolls to earn a living would be interesting.
I wasn’t talking about Ben’s work schedule I was specifically meaning jetting around the US with Lindsay on “mini vacations .” Especially with kids out of school for the summer . And I was referencing Lindsay as well she’s a mother too. As far as Jen being able to stay at home with the kids because of Ben making all the money – I highly doubt she would be too poor to stay with them without his income – not to mention she could be leaving them with a nanny and working and then spending her free time popping around the US with her boyfriend . But she doesn’t .
She doesn’t go anywhere with a boyfriend because she’d have to find one first. That could be challenging considering she spends all her time scheming with tabloids and publicists and arranging pap strolls. She’s clearly still obsessed with Ben. I doubt she’ll ever really move on.
Someone on DM said that the kids were away (with relatives? idk) for most of July. Ben was off in England and Jen was papped solo for a long stretch there.
Three luxury vacation homes: The Bahamas, Colorado, the Hampton Island home outside of Savannah.
Are you serious!
He’s been to New York twice and San Diego and then Maine and that’s all just simce July 6th! So he can escape the paps when he is with his kids but he cant when he’s with Lindsay! They’ve been photographed more that x10 in less than a month and not once with his kids! Not once! Feel so so sad for them. Can you imagine how they would feel when the grow up a d realize their dad chose the mistress over them.
And also, the kids havent been on vacation all July they were photographed with Jen frequently. And Ben wrapped filming in england end of June!! So he had all the month off.
You’re wrong. Ben literally just wrapped JL reshoots last week. And no, there weren’t pap pics of the kids for several weeks.
There were a number of shots of Jen and some or all of the kids in July: 4, 9, 14, 23, 24, 27, 30 (some church and some other places). In the video from last week, the older lady at the door asked Sera if she had enjoyed camp, so she was away for a few days, at least.
@LearningTheSystem, that is horrible how often those kids are papped. Seeing the dates saddens me, just in one month. I would change my address, routine, something, to stop weekly pap shots of my children. It’s unhealthy for them to encounter a gaggle of paps pointing cameras at them so often.
@Jayna But how would Jen stay relevant if she did any of those things? These pap strolls with the kids to show what a devoted mom she is are like, her career and tether to Ben Affleck. Despite her tears in front of Congress, she enjoys the attention which is why she’s never made any changes.
I always find it weird when people behave as if any of these people are cash strapped and live lives anywhere close to the average couple. JG is nowhere near his level of wealth. It is just true. Where would she have made enough money to live even a third of the lifestyle she lives now.
There are mothers who truly have to bust their butts to take care of their children. They would give anything to be able to spend more time with their children but have to choose food and shelter instead.
Praise her for her strong qualities but can real working mothers who make hard sacrifices own that narrative? I take my kids to a pet store and the woman who manages it talks to us all of the time so we are friendly. She works 3 jobs so she can take care of her children and scrape together money to help her daughter go to college. Her husband was laid off so he has to take nothing jobs to do his best to contribute. Lets keep that sort of praise for real people.
Rarely, and I do mean rarely does the hardcore alcoholic want to spend time with his children, unless he’s free to drink while around them. He might be forced to by the courts, or he wants to project a good image or he’s doing it out of spite, but for the alcoholic time spent with the kids is usually time away from alcohol. He’s also forced to deal with his guilt when he sees those three little faces looking at him, confused, angry and questioning. At least he hasn’t forced Lindsay on them, yet.
He looks awful.
He looks terribly sunburned. Were they out on a boat in Maine all day, or did he stay in the tanning bed too long? LOL That’s not an alcoholic red face. He’s sunburned all over face.
Is this all we are to ever expect from Jennifer Garner from now on? At what point are these pointed pap strolls going to cease? When does the next phase of her PR plan –actually moving on from Ben– going to begin? I saw the over-acting, huggsy pap stroll with Ben’s mom and thought it was thirsty and reaching and RME. Time for a new game plan. Judging from the comments here and elsewhere, it looks like if people aren’t already sick of her game they are getting there.
If she wants to walk around town with his mother or any other willing adult and be photographed, that’s one thing. The repeated exposure of children is where she loses me. I feel this way about any fading celebrity who most likely is arranging most if not all the parent/kiddie photo strolls.
I would think with Bens’ obsession with positive PR, he’d want a pic with his mom and Lindsay. Haven’t seen one yet. I think that would speak volumes. Especially since they are in the same town at the same time.
WHAT IS UP WITH THAT RED FACE OF HIS?? Did he lay out without sunscreen or pull a Ross Geller in the self tanner?? Wtf??
I just posted almost the same thing above.
Ben looks like he gets a LOT of work done on his face. I think he looks like he is recovering from a skin treatment like A laser treatment or chemical peel.
A lot of people make fun of Jennifer Garner doing Capital One commercials but Samuel L. Jackson also is a spokesperson for Capital one. I don’t think people make fun of him. (Not that I’ve heard) I saw the last part of an interview he gave and he said doing those Capital One commercials were the equivalent of doing 2 movies a year! (He might get paid more, who knows?) With Jen also doing Neutrogena commercials, she is making a lot of money and is able to spend valuable time with her children! Sounds like a win-win situation!
When Barbara Walters interviewed Ben, she made a comment about Jennifer giving up her career to raise their children for him. He said something like he didn’t believe Jen did it for him but more for their children. At that time, a lot of people thought Barbara was bashing Ben instead of promoting his movie!
I think her commercials are cute and no one is saying they are bad just that she isn’t doing much else. I am not one that begrudges it but it doesn’t pay for the lifestyle she enjoys.
Why is Ben Affleck getting papped so much? Does America really care this much about this dude and his non-celebrity gf?
Yeah, they do. There are hundreds of comments on stories about him.
But does he enjoy her company? Do they like hanging out together? It hasn’t been mentioned in any of the articles yet so I wanted to make sure.
@kake
Good one!
Don’t forget: They’re *trying* to take it slow…but things are moving fast! Lots more pap strolls to come in August…stay tuned.
They both look like a gd mess. I sure hope it’s worth it for Lindsay Shookus to accquiseise to Ben’s every self-destructive whim. Although, maybe she’s a lot smarter than the rest of us plebs and Jen Garner, so appeasing her man is probably just the same as “understanding him” in her book.
I’ve finally put the finger on why Jennifer Garner annoys me. I don’t think that her hanging out with Ben’s mother is, in and of itself, a bad thing. I’m fine with it. I don’t even mind the pap strolls. I think there are a lot of celebrities out there who leverage their public presence in FAR worse ways than Jennifer Garner has, so that doesn’t bother me either.
What bugs me is her insistence on always being seen as the “correct” one in this equation. She always has to be good. She always has to do the right thing. And most importantly, she always has to be SEEN doing “the right thing.” She has to be visibly seen as the party who’s doing everything right, who isn’t being a “b*tch,” who is always being polite and deferential and never putting a foot wrong. I wouldn’t care if Jennifer Garner hung out with her MIL after the divorce. Good for her for trying to do the best for her kids by not burning that bridge. But she has to be SEEN doing the good thing. She has to be SEEN as being magnanimous, as the gracious ex-wife, as the ex-wife who’s only concerned about Ben’s well-being and keeping her family together. And it’s that insistence that’s making me annoyed and sad for her. I don’t want her to go all-out ragey in the style of Brandi Glanville or whatever (can you imagine though??) but like. Come on. Show us some emotion that isn’t just, “Oh we’re doing the best for our kids.” It’s only human.
See Lainey’s post on Garner today, and the recent BuzzFeed piece on Jen and the “good girl” persona in general. They both speak to your points.
Lainey was so spot on in the Ben article below the Jennifer article, about Ben’s producing of the rollout of this relationship and what a fail it is, so messy looking, so sloppy looking, both of them. Why not look like a normal couple, fresh, nice casual clothes, no sweat stains, hair combed, out to dinner or the comedy club? If he wants he and Lindsay to be the new normal of his life and get the public used to seeing them out, why so trashy-looking and rough-looking, the both of them? Lainey was spot on.
Where’s Amal and George when you need them?
@JoJo I did read it! I thought it was pretty spot on too. But I didn’t feel like Lainey was all that critical of her, and she never really has been. I don’t think she sees it as necessarily a negative thing that Jennifer Garner is so good with spinning her particular narrative to the press. The skill itself is great and all, but my problem is with the story she’s fronting to begin with.
It’s okay to be hurt, it’s okay to be a mess, to not do things that are the textbook definition of “the good ex-wife.” To me, it all feels a bit like a cover, an armour almost, to protect herself from people who could potentially criticize her as being “spiteful” or as a wife who’s “trying to get back at her husband.” And I’m not sure how I feel about her trying to insulate herself from that because? It’s not like she is a spiteful wife, she seems like a fairly decent person in this regard, so why go through SO much effort to make her divorce seem like it’s so great and so mature and all? What does she get from it, aside from a sense of superiority that she’s being a “good person”? That’s what bugs me. At least when she was with Ben, she had a reason, a necessity to keep a lock on their public profile. What’s the necessity here, aside from vanity and the ability to say to people, “See, I’m not like those OTHER girls, I’m like a GOOD girl, I would never dream of dragging my husband through the coals even though he rightfully deserves it for being an alcoholic who didn’t respect me and did his best to torpedo our relationship.”
Lindsay Shookus & Jennifer Garner are cut from the same cloth. Both of them are essentially just two different types of the “cool girl” because both of them are so hellbent on how they are seen and perceived by others. Shookus doesn’t want Ben to think of her like a nag, so she behaves like a f*cking doormat and indulges him in his self-destruction, while fronting like she really “gets him” and that Jennifer Garner was just not up to par intellectually to indulge him the way she can. Jennifer Garner is scared like hell that the facade she’s made of her being “the good girl” will get blown so she’s doing everything to seem like the decent, upstanding wife, even though she’s seething inside and has every right to be angry and nothing to gain from this facade EXCEPT for some self-righteous pats on the back.
The point that everyone’s missing: Ben’s clearly not in love w/Lindsay. (There, I said it.)
But all this pap stuff and these phony PR updates are just to stick it to Jen and to let her know that he’s DONE. The thing is that Jen seems to be buying into it and unable to let go.
In most photos, he’s wearing the Baker’s Bay t-shirt or The Rolling Stones one (“She’s so cold”…) I think he knows this looks sh*tty, but he doesn’t give AF anymore, not about either one of them – or himself.
As I wrote in another post, he’s a rebel without a cause.
This is such a 180 from the Ben who was working his rehab, thanking family, and sharing his love for the DRC that it’s shocking and sad to see.
@A, don’t you think some of that anger MIGHT be reflected in her willingness to be papped with the MIL with such affection being displayed? Maybe she doesn’t say it because of kids, but shows it in subtle ways that would not overtly alarm her kids later?
@elle “The point that everyone’s missing: Ben’s clearly not in love w/Lindsay.” It’s not that we’re missing it, it’s that we just don’t agree (I don’t, anyway). I don’t know about ~love but he certainly seems to be going above and beyond to spend time with her, all at the expense of his tabloid image. It seems like infatuation to me. He could stick it to Jen in a variety of ways that don’t involve so much travel or internet forum abuse. Taking another woman out in public is obviously destroying her. There are plenty of available women in LA that he could choose from.
@bobbie, but does he really look infatuated here – or just angry? Yeah, he could take out other women, but none would quite get to Jen so much as *this* one.
@elle I don’t think much of that. I watched the video of them leaving the comedy club. The paps were swarming like crazy. Most people in that situation would look annoyed.
@bobbie, I don’t think many outside of these threads “think much of” it, just that he/they/this look(s) a mess. And as posted variously here, some will wonder what it means for JL and Batman – but not much else.
All except for that evening w/Chelsea Handler…
Ben has “produced an appearance” (per Lainey) when he was seen with the Congolese, which People featured. He also went to an elementary school to talk about the Congolese with his mother and went to visit that sick child in a hospital , but where they featured in People or anywhere else? (If they were, I didn’t see). These are the things he needs to be seen doing! Not only would this be positive for for him but it would also be great for his well-being!
Yep. 🙁
Unless you look like Angelina, that stuff doesn’t get high profile coverage. Many people who follow Ben’s twitter, like me, did follow everything when he was over there as it was on his facebook. page So ultimately, it will always get small coverage. I enjoyed following his trip over there and all of his posts on facebook about the Eastern Congo Initiative and the progress being made. And he looked healthy and cleaned up over there and engaged. And he is involved with sustainable investment in that region. That is what is so smart in his charity and how he partnered up. We can look at Ben and his drinking problem, but there is the whole other side to Ben, very intelligent, very interested in world affairs, a gifted director. It’s sad to see the drinking part overshadowing that.
The Ben and Jen and LIndsay story really most don’t care about except women on gossip sites. I asked my sister what she thought about his new girlfriend. She said, “Well, he and Jen got divorced a long time ago and I never got them anyway as a couple.” She thought they were divorced. I tried to explain what was the latest gossip and she tuned me out. Thought it was uninteresting. Every female at my office, every age, not one was interested in Ben/Jen/Lindsay as that marriage has been over for forever to them. It’s not like some sudden split and nannygate over two years ago. That was gossip and the fresh breakup.
He needs to clean himself up and write a new script for a movie. Get focused. He and Matt are producing a new Showtime Boston drama.
Funny – any time I mention Ben Affleck people always think he is still with the nanny or in rehab. My husband and son are huge movie buffs but neither will pay to see his movies in the theater anymore. They think he is “shady”.
Nah. Frauen would still complain that he doesn’t see his kids as often as they think he should.
Active users shouldn’t be around their children.
Ben Affleck is such a selfish weak man child. He brought three children into this world, has access to any treatment process available and refuses to get sober. His behaviour is going to create the next generation of drunken screwed up Afflecks. Even if he does make the time to see his children, he is a full blown addict so I doubt he is truly present. He’s likely counting down the minutes until they leave to get his next fix.
I have no sympathy for this loser.
.
I recognize that liquor store. The Umbrella Factory. About nine miles from my house. Bray’s Brew Pub is the white house in the background. The middle of the Sebago Lakes region. Bars and restaurants galore.
Lindsay’s face looks fuller in those Just Jared date night pics from last night. That plus the baggy dress — pregnant?
If she’s drinking – hope not!
She had on a skin-tight dress in the liquor store.
How do we know Jen hasn’t gone Betty Broderick(but in private) My mom had a good neighbor that when she found out her husband was having an an affair for over year, she cut one sleeve out of every dress shirt and one leg out of every pant he owned. That was his entire wardrobe for work! He owned A lot of suits! They were married a little longer and had 3 young kids,too! Maybe that is why Ben wears that same Rolling Stones and Patriots tee shirt. (Jen cut up his clothes) lol! I personally think Jen has had time to vent. I think the Vanity Fair article was her closure to her marriage.
What do you actually know about Betty Broderick? She has a personality disorder and tried to alienate her children from their father and then ultimately killed him and his new wife. She was before my time but I recently learned about her on an episode of a podcast I subscribe to.
This situation sounds nothing like hers.
Betty Broderick became obsessed with her husband when he left her for younger woman and stalked them before killing them. She hired a PR firm when she was charged with murder.
Betty Broderick is a mentally unstable abusive mother and murderer. She was abusive to her children and husband long before she committed her crimes.
No one knew what she was like behind the scenes. She put on the picture perfect housewife show for years until it all unraveled. Everyone thought that she was the best mother and wife in the world.
Maybe it’s because this podcast is so fresh in my mind, but I don’t think it’s fair to categorize anybody in this situation as psychotic as Betty Broderick. She was horribly abusive to her family.
Ben’s a loser but it wouldn’t be fair to compare him to a murdering abusive husband and father either.
LOL Betty Broderick was a murdering sociopath Garner is probably a little passive aggressive but I doubt she has a serious personality disorder.
ETA:
I totally agree @Neems. It’s more realistic to believe Jen is a bit passive aggressive and Ben is simply an alcoholic. No need to demonize either of them.
@Neens
I no way believe Jennifer is like or acts like Betty Broderick.😊 I used the term in reference to a comment that said Jen always has to have the ” good girl ” image . Just because my mom’s neighbor did that does not mean I think she acted like Betty Broderick,either.
On a lovely related note: did you know that Ben Affleck was set to star and produce under the direction of his “friend” David Fincher the remake of Strangers on a train? If you remember, the two protagonists plots to kill one his wife and the other their father. LOL. It was rumored that the antagonist character would have been played, in a gender switching role, by Robin Wright (she and Ben already starred together as (philandering) husband and wife in State of Play, a few years ago). In the remake, is not a train but a plane, and the protagonist is an actor campaigning for awards season, fed up with his wife and he plots to have her killed, I presume by Robin Wright’s character. Funny all that project has been put on hold. Wonder why? LOL
I’ve always suspected that there is something wrong with Jennifer Garner. She hides her demons and vices better than Ben, certainly, but for someone who cares SO MUCH about strangers’ perceptions of her and her private life, I suspect she’s very different behind closed doors. The whole sugary-sweet-down-home-hillbilly-girl is an act that she keeps ramming home to anyone who pays attention. She’s a little to desperate.
I agree with you Julie! Jen G freaks me out and always has. Everything seems so carefully planned and calculated. She cares way too much, and has lived her life more concerned with being perceived a certain way than doing what’s right for herself. Lindsay seems the opposite, very open and confident, not trying to present a fake image to the world.
JG should stop this and move on. The best revenge is success in life (healthy movie or TV career) and healthy and happy life. This is getting old. I have never liked Ben so it doesn’t matter what he does.
He just can’t get out of his own way. I have no dog in this fight but no matter who he dates, he’s still a mess. Jen got the best part of him, the kids. She needs to close the book on this. He will always be this guy so why anyone would get involved with him is beyond me.
This woman is 37 and Halle Berry is almost 51…damn
HAHA so now it’s reported that Casey Affleck joined the lovebirds at the comedy club last night. “I’ll see your mom pic, Jen, and raise you with a brother hanging with me.” sigh….
Random, but I saw on twitter someone posted some pics from JL reshoot of Ben’s face and had shots from the original on the side to compare. Massive differences, and not good ones.
And “they weren’t seen drinking alcohol.” Plus the detail that last year she was with Jon Hamm at the event. Please just stop.
Didn’t Hamm deny they ever dated? Hahaha
How many more can we drag into this Shookus-mess…
Here is another take:
I am here to support my brother. Our mother is a sore point for us since we still have resentment toward her. Using her for PR points is uncalled for but then again it is another example of her lack of support. He is having a hard time right now and he needs me.
My own mother would never side against her children. When my brother’s wife tried to complain about him to her the set down was loud and clear. She doesn’t involve herself in her children’s marriages. The result backfired and my mother has cooled on her ever since. She is nice and civil and loves the grandchildren but she thought it was a shady move.
It doesn’t mean it is that deep. They are close and spent time together. You act as if their mother is making a big statement when I don’t think she was. JG wants it to look that way but it doesn’t mean it is.
Ha ! Ha! Ben’s mom still trumps Casey! A lot of people don’t like Casey, though. I do think he is a good actor, though!
Hopefully both Ben & Casey visited with their mom while she is in town!
I don’t know anyone wants Garner to step back – I am thoroughly entertained by all of this.
Jennifer Garner is clearly bored and badly needing a job and a boyfriend if she has this kind of time to scheme and stage photo ops for the tabloids. She gains nothing real from all of this. She’s coming across as a desperate loser, which is pathetic considering the guy who’s on the other side of this is a mess himself.
Definitely a pap stroll, but sooner or later she will be seen with her kids grandmother.
Ben looks gross.
What is on her leg? Just curious, is it psoriasis, a birth mark, or a burn injury?
Was just scrolling through some recent Ben and Lindsey posts and boy what a different face they have on compared to the happy faces they wore when they went public coming out of the restaurant in LA and were papped.
where are the smiles and happy faces now?
Lots different when the thrill of hiding is off, plus the reception has not been good at all! The reality of different coasts and kids has to be a looming issue and you know Ben would expect her to give all up to be with him. My popcorn is ready.
I’m going to go get us some more popcorn.
Does anybody else feel we are getting an itinerary of Ben & Lindsay’s dates, especially from US Weekly? It is making for great entertainment, though!
I wonder if they have more bad stuff on Ben and are getting insider so they won’t publish.
I have a feeling that both Jen and Chris are feeding their ‘martyr mommy’ complex. Chris wasn’t so stellar that she didn’t expose her sons to codependent drama if in fact Chris kept a marriage with a drunk going for a long time. So Jen and Chris egg each other on, moaning about the situation and moaning about Ben’s antics and moaning about Ben’s issues and thinking up possible solutions. It’s not a goofy situation, it’s toxic and unhealthy. Jen should get a life of her own, if only so Jen doesn’t feed Chris’ issues as well (past issues from the past marriage to Ben’s dad).
Exactly. She probably gets sympathy from Jen because her sons refuse to let her martyr herself. Or she feels guilt and gets a comrade with Jen.
New photos on DM. Ben and Lindsay out for coffee and stopping by his office. He actually looks nice. She has horrible taste in casual clothes. The clothes look like they are from a young budget store and the same tennis shoes.
As someone pointed out, Ben has a driver. It’s pretty obvious by now his license is suspended.
He does look nice on the latest pic of DM
Jayna, You hit it spot on about her wardrobe!
It was taken in the morning. For some reason, by end of day, they look plastered and sweaty. Both of them.
Why do you think his license was suspended? The DMV would need an actual reason to do that and I’m sure TMZ or someone would have figured that out by now. Maybe he’s using a chauffeur because he can? I was in LA once and the traffic is terrible. Jen uses a driver too, sometimes. I’d use a car service if I could. And anyway, I feel like I saw pics of him driving his Chevelle not that long ago. I’ll have to look.
I saw one picture of him driving his car this summer. DM has a couple of pictures of him spending time with Violet yesterday.
Someone on here kept mentioning he had been using a driver for a while and why isn’t he driving. I never notice these type things. When I saw him getting out of the SUV, with a driver, I thought, oh, maybe they’re right, he isn’t driving himself. So that’s when I thought maybe his license was suspended. I’m sure I’m wrong.
Ben and Violet look cute together going to the movies. Ben needs to dress like this more often. He looks put together for a change.
Jen uses a driver, too. Seems to be when she knows there will be paps (church with the kids, the community runs that they’ve done, the gym). I don’t think it’s a big deal. There was a video on instagram of Ben and LS coming out of the restaurant last night (or maybe it was the comedy club, couldn’t tell) and the paps were just swarming. I wouldn’t want to drive with the blinding flashes like that. YMMV.
Last post…just saw a blurb that apparently Chris is actually staying with Jen. That’s kinda significant to me.
That is really creepy. Jen is a fully grown adult, not a twenty-something year old who was pressured into marrying Ben in her teens and suddenly has no idea how to cope with impending single life.
It doesn’t sound creepy to me at all. Maybe Ben’s mom wanted to spend more time with her grandkids? It’s pretty normal behavior. The only thing I take away for certain from this is that Jen gets along well with her soon to be ex- mother in law.
Chris visits California occasionally. I’m sure she is simply a guest. Stand down with the harsh judgment, please.
Jen actually has walked around several times since the split with her mother in law, its hardly news so why is everyone making a big deal about it. Obviously they are closer than your average pair so I guess that’s why but I think everyone is really going way overboard with saying she needs to stop doing that and get her own life etc. It doesn’t have anything to do with Ben, that is really overreaching (projecting much Jayna?) . Also, Chris is her kids’ grandma and Jen obviously has primary custody so if Chris wants to see her grandkids that’s where she’ll be. So Jen and her MIL are walking down the street and they obviously are good friends and were papped (which happens because Jen is followed everywhere, you are stupid if you think she calls them). So f-n what. You all sound ridiculous.
I read that Eonline article about Lindsay and Ben and it kinda made me gag. Why is overselling this coupling and being so OTT with it? I’m not saying I think they should skulk around in secret or anything but why all the commentary? But then his PR oversells the conscious uncoupling blow by blow stuff too. Maybe Ben should just fire them all cause it comes across so desperate.
Why wouldn’t Ben’s mom stay with Jen while she is visiting her grandchildren? Her children are probably excited grandma is staying with them! Why would Jen have her stay at a hotel?
My MIL leaves nearby but if she was out of town, I would never let her stay in a hotel. She would be welcome to stay with us. I, like Jen, have a great relationship with my MIL! Both of my parents are gone and I am so lucky to have her!
It’s not like they are short of room…
Ok Jen, whatever you say haha
It’s not significant or special. Casey said in an interview that when his mom is in town she usually stays with him. Maybe she’s overstayed her welcome there. I highly doubt she’s moving in but then, you seem to read a lot into even the most minor things.
@Brianna – Agree. Casey actually joked in the recent WTF podcast that his mom stays with him so much and for so long that she essentially lives with him at this point.
So, I highly doubt that Chris is suddenly protesting her sons. Their behavior is nothing new to her at this point. I’m sure the whole reason she’s in Calif. in the first place is her sons. My guess on her staying with Jen:
1) She wants to spend time with the grandkids, and to make that easy, she’s staying with them briefly
2) Even more likely, she’s not staying with Jen. and E! News got that fact wrong. I wouldn’t take E! as gospel. They get facts wrong, including their recent Bermuda trip, saying both Ben and Jen stayed at their Baker’s Bay house while Gossip Cop said they stayed in two separate houses.
That’ not significant to me. Jen and Ben have been co-parenting in a great way for two years now. Jen and her mother-in-law have always gotten along. She’s there to see the children. She used to come and stay a lot to help out with the kids when they had gigs. It’s a huge compound. The kids want their grandmother. Ben is in a new place and has a new girlfriend with him visiting. She doesn’t want to intrude. Why wouldn’t she be where the kids are mostly?
Again, Ben and Jen, according to Jen, split in the spring of 2015. Why would there have to be sides taken by the grandmother? Jen and Ben were co-parenting and getting along for several years now as an estranged couple. Just because Jen wigged out because Ben has a girlfriend isn’t Ben’s mother’s concern This is not some new split between Jen and Ben where Ben’s mom would have to take sides. People are allowed to date and move on. Maybe this will force Jen to move on.
i think she has moved on. There will be issues and conflict until their kid’s are grown at least. That is normal. Maybe there is anger still on both sides from recent conflicts. But that will always come and go. I do think she has moved on though.
@ LearnigtheSystem ..So, I’m absolutely on the same page as you
There is absolutely no proof you have that Jennifer wigged out because Ben has a girlfriend. Because she went to the same public restaurant he did and hung out with his mother? Weak. But I do think the Trumpian level lie that he’s only been dating her for the past few months got on her friends and People magazine’s nerves. Talk about whitewashing your sordid affair. I’m glad he didn’t get away with that one. You have no proof that she hasn’t moved on either. Because she doesn’t have a public boyfriend? You seem hung up on the fact that neither of them didn’t publicly see others for a couple of years. She may very well have a private one that she doesn’t want ruined by the resulting tabloid scrutiny. Or maybe she wants the space to do what she wants when she wants and since the kids are with her 95% of the time she is not lonely for company. A lot of my divorced friends felt that way, if not most of them after separating. Either way it doesn’t mean she hasn’t moved on emotionally as well as physically. For the past year or so she has seemed extremely happy in her life, and Ben not at all, so maybe HE’S the one whose having problems with the separation. He certainly has looked like shit since it began.
DM has pics of Ben taking Violet to the movies….Looks like he is going to have a busy summer!!! Lol!!!
Ben looks good there. He’s lost a lot of weight in the last month or two.
He took his oldest daughter to the movies. He looks good.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BXVYLqhBFNH/
“has felt very alone for a long time,” … The hell? He was with Shookus and the nanny WHEN he was with Jen, he never had alone time.
Jayna this is not a new fling he’s been having an on off full blowin affair with her for the last 3 to 4 years. While he was even married to Jen. If you believe his PR that this is just a new fling that started up I got a bridge to sell you in Brooklyn