Ben Affleck was a guest on the Ellen Degeneres show and his segment will air tomorrow. Some advance quotes have been leaked from the interview, and they cracked me up. Affleck admitted that he lets his more domestic-minded partner take care of all the Christmas decorating and shopping. He even joked that he’s so bad at buying gifts that he ends up at CVS on Christmas eve desperately looking for presents. That’s such a stereotype of guys at Christmas time, and it rings true in my experience.
When it comes to getting into the holiday spirit in Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner’s home, Ben admits it’s his wife who decks the halls – and hits the stores.
“I’m not particularly proud of it, but it’s a bit of a ‘50s thing I guess. Because my wife is so capable, and because I’m less so, she does a lot of that work and I kind of root her on,” Ben told Ellen DeGeneres in an interview set to air on Wednesday’s “The Ellen DeGeneres Show.”
“I’m encouraging,” he said.
When it comes to picking out gifts for family and friends, Ben said he once again defers to Jen.
“It takes her as much energy and effort to buy like the 20 gifts we’re going to buy other people, as it does to buy her gift. I spend the whole time, fretting about that and being nervous and hoping she likes that,” Ben added.
Typically, as the Christmas deadline approaches, Ben said he abandons the high-end designer stores in lieu of something a bit more convenient.
“I end up at like CVS on [December] 24 being like, ‘Maybe she’d like a little Godzilla that goes around,’” the star/director of “The Town” joked.
“[Are] you talking about your wife or your kids?” Ellen asked.
“My wife,” Ben said. “My kids actually would like that.”
[From Access Hollywood]
I find that oddly endearing because that same dynamic plays out in my house. My husband just told me last night that he has trouble buying presents because there are too many options and he doesn’t know what to get. (I mean I knew this, but we were just talking about it.) I usually end up dropping a lot of hints about what I want, and sometimes I buy myself presents online like a purse or jewelry and let him give them to me. I’ll actually forget about it so it’s still a nice surprise at Christmas, and of course I like whatever it is because I picked it out myself. When he gets me presents they’re very practical usually, like a nice coffee machine or a food processor. (Both of which I really wanted and enjoyed, but those are what guys think of.) I have trouble shopping for him too though, as it seems like he has just about everything he needs. Oh and in regards to Christmas decorating, aren’t we usually the ones who end up doing that? I get a lot of help once I take the initiative, but I end up deciding how we’re going to decorate and rearrange stuff in the house. It’s not like we have traditional male and female roles necessarily, that’s just the way it happens.
Ben Affleck is shown out shopping with Violet, who turns five tomorrow! (credit: WENN) He’s also shown picking her up at school (credit: Fame). Jennifer Garner is shown out with Violet and Seraphina (who turns two in January) on 11/27/10. Credit: WENN.com
Lol….he’s like every guy I know (including my husband). Bless his heart!
I really like them as a couple. So sweet. They seem to really enjoy their family and each other. It’s such a nice change from most hollywood couples.
Same here on the decorating thing, though my hubby takes charge of the outside stuff. I’d rather skip the ladder bit myself. 🙂
Absolutely! Otherwise, they will do it wrong! Then we will have to take over and put them back up the way WE want.
Might as well do it yourself.
I am sorry but I think Ben is a jerk. He seems so uninvolved with his family, and that quote makes it sound like he just can’t be bothered. And for heavens sake couldn’t he get her a movie role. I was watching an interview with her a few months back when she had to explain that she was shooting Arthur but wasn’t the lead actress/love interest and just I felt sorry for her, she was just so good in Alias.
BTW your hubby sounds sweet CB I’m not trying to diss him.
That’s the way it is for me also, nothing shocking there.
He was probably at some LA hotel with Blake Lively while Jennifer did all the shopping, decorating, cooking, raising kids.
My dad is the king of the Christmas Eve drug store shopping- two years ago he gave my mother a loofah-on-a-stick, a jar of blueberry syrup, and an economy size box of q-tips.
This year I’ve already told him to give me the credit card and I will buy my mother something from him…it’s the only way!
Puke. He “lets” her do everything? While he does Blake Lively?
Sorry, but this post is sexist. “Aren’t men just so charmingly clueless?” Come on. How about “women are just so bad with money that it’s adorable!” How does that sound? Ridiculous? A complete over-generalization? Well, it is, and so are these comments about men. Yuk.
I think that was a sweet interview. I live with alot of my extended family so actually me and my sister in law end up decorating the house but not because it is the “female” role but because we love it and want to do it. I end up decorating Halloween with my brother because that’s the holiday we both love and the rest of my family can’t be bothered with as much. I think he just answered honestly and admitted he isn’t any good at shopping. I actually do think these guys are a good couple. Don’t know why … we haven’t heard much negative things about them so … who knows …
He is probably pretty good at picking out gifts, just not for JG. He had no problem buying Bentleys and pink diamonds for J. Lo.
Ben Affleck is one giant arse-hole & he seems sneaky too. He looks like he has anger issues. Golly…I could go on & on.
ben might not do chick stuff, but he does have cute little titties- see the first pic!
50s my ass. That’s code for- man does no work inside the home, and has 3 martini lunches after effing the costar (oops, secretary).
@Carrie…I think your mother will appreciate that…lol!
That’s exactly what my husband does.
That child looks like a goblin! And before all the screeching begins just remember that kid is a spoiled brat who will have her life handed to her on a silver platter. And besides she nor her parents are going to read this
I do the inside decorating, hubby does the outside. Last time he shopped for me was about 10 years ago and I got a blow dryer. Now I pick out what I want, he’s happy, I’m happy. Works for us.
i dont see what the big deal is. everyone has their strengths. if my husband cooked, we would have burnt water. if i did the taxes, we would be in jail. has nothing to do with sexism.
also, he ponied up with JLO buying presents bc it was important to her. maybe not so with JG.
@ Whatever,
She does not look like a goblin, you have no idea if she’s a brat or not and it doesn’t matter if they read it or not, DON’T insult children.
OMG!
that lil’ seraphina’s another adorable lil’ strawberry shortcake! or better yet, strawberry shortcake’s lil’ sister…
APPLE DUMPLING!
awwww! lol 🙂
@ janie – Yeah, I agree with you. Except my husband can cook & do the taxes. I, however, do the cleaning.
And JG seems much more grounded than J-Ello!
My mom did all the Christmas prep (cooking, shopping, wrapping presents etc., but my dad was the one who bought the Christmas tree. I still remember when I was seven years old and he brought home a 9-foot tree and got sap stains all over our 8-foot ceiling. Mom was not happy.
@whatever: That’s a really despicable thing to say about a little girl. Go snark on somebody your own size.
I am going to clarify there is absolutely nothing wrong with leaving the holidays to mom if she is better at it. BUT we all know Ben more than likely cheats and definitely does spend months at a time away from home shooting films. And he is a director he has the power to give his wife a role in a film but hires women who look like her for the lead (see Rebecca Hall) then more than likely f–ks the help (Blake Lively) to get his rocks off. That’s what insults me and nope I don’t find that romantic or “cute”.
Awww. He lets her “do” Christmas, she lets him “do” the strippers. How nice. She got the crap end of this marriage.
SMH at the people screaming sexism. My husband and I both hate shopping but I do it because I’m better at it i.e. more organized, more patience. My brother on the other hand loves shopping and is really great at choosing gifts. Has nothing to do with the way either of them treat women. Now is Ben Affleck sexist? Only the women who know him really know. Kinda interesting though how a carefully worded headline triggers responses in people. I already know what the general vein of commenting is going to be just based on a particular headline.
Well played again Celebitchy. Well played. 🙂
Why do some of you assume that Jennifer would even want a role in one of Ben’s movies? I believe I read an interview of Jennifer’s once where she said she didn’t want to be in one of his movies because she wanted to keep their home and work lives seperate and because she didn’t want them both to be working at the same time because she wanted one of them to always be with the kids.
I love the commenters that take some seemingly sweet, harmless comments that a husband makes about his wife and manipulate it into this sinister diatribe about cheating, sexism etc etc. Projecting much???
What a great family. I do the shopping, my husband cleans after dinner and does all of the outdoor work while I clean the house. Works for us.
@Grace so you think Jen is happy playing second fiddle to Helen Mirren (of course), Russell Brand , and whoever else is in Arthur while Ben is off getting Best Director noms (and whatever went on with Blake Lively)??? OK sure.
And he is a director he has the power to give his wife a role in a film
********
She doesn’t particularly WANT to work with or for Ben. She has “The Odd Life of Timothy Green” coming up and I’m hopefully going to be working on it! Can’t wait.
You know what? I”d love to do their xmas shopping. Gimme Ben’s Black Amex & “let me ” at it. Also I would be happy to dial up a beverly hills decorator for the holiday interiors/exterior at the Garner- Affleck’s. I bet Jen wasn’t up all night at some fool black friday madness. C’mon how hard is all that holiday stuff if $$ is no issue?
He’s exactly like most husbands. My brother never gets in trouble. His wife loves jewelry and is very, very picky. And she takes time every year and checks out jewelry for a while (which she loves doing) and picks out what she wants that Xmas, whether it’s diamond earrings, gold bracelets, rings, and he goes and gets it and wraps it. She’s never been unhappy one Christmas or had to take her gift back. LOL
@mlm76: I have no idea how Jennifer feels about having a supporting role. And neither do you.
And I’m not sure why you’re twisting what I said in my comment. What I said was that Jennifer said in an interview that she doesn’t want to be in movies that Ben directs because she wants to keep home and work seperate and she doesn’t want to be working at the same time as Ben. There was nothing about that comment that had anything to do with how Jennifer feels about the movie she is currently in.
Jen is Uber Mom and Ben is a lazy man’s man. Of course he’s going to let her do all the work.
Remember her in “Juno”?
@Min, Jennifer and their two children moved to Boston most of that year to be with Ben while he prepped the movie and directed and acted in it. She talked about it in an interview, and he talked about it, now nice it was to come home to his family at night. They aren’t apart very much.
I do all our Christmas shopping. DH wouldn’t have a clue what to buy the kids or where to get the best deals. I do it all online and save tons of $$$. DH fixes anything that breaks (car, sink, etc), takes out the trash, changes the lightbulbs. We have 4 kids, both work full time. Life runs much smoother if we divide things up based on our strengths.
good-looking family.
Some totally uncalled for nasty comments on here. Calling a child a goblin? What kind of mean wacko are you? Creepy. Jennifer works just as much as she wants to. She doesn’t want to be in any of Ben’s movies. They have children to care for and she does a very good job of it.
awesome post Icantbelievethis. The last part should be a popular quote, it is so true.
I don’t get all these people saying they buy their own presents and then let their husband “give” them. That’s lame and it’s not a gift. Surely he should know you well enough to be able to find something.
@carrie…
loofah-on-a-stick!!!! that’s hilarious!
my uncle bought my aunt a vacuum cleaner for x’mas. did not go over well….at…all!
eh, if that was the only thing he let his wife do by herself..
I do most of the shopping because I like shopping and my husband hates it. We decorate together (except this year because he’ll be out of town until just before Christmas) because we both like it. This year I have to hire someone to do the outside decorating, because I am NOT getting on a ladder to reach a third floor!!!
You don’t see Ben out and about with his kids that much. It’s all Jen, there. But none of us know what it’s like when he comes home at night. I’m guessing he’s extremely submissive to whatever she wants and he’s probably a really good dad when he’s there.
With that said, I don’t like him. She could do so much better. Tho they make extremely pretty babies. 🙂
you are all so funny, and really touchy! Lighten up, life isnt’t that hard. Plus i get the child looks like a goblin(if u look closely), you all know she does, but of course @whatever, its not nice to say it out loud. Sexist!???? Women need to stop with the inferior complex, only women who feel inferior to men will think this is sexist, plus of course jen has to pick up the gifts and do the decorations because ben is bonning blake lively in one hotel room or the other……..all in all, nice interview. He seems sleazy though.
@Liana (#30) I actually want to work on film sets in,production most likely.
How can I do what you do? For real! I really would love to know. It sounds awesome!
Ben needs to take some lessons from Daddy Brad Pitt. Ben looks miserable in all those pics. Kinda like going thru the motions.