CB has been covering all of the Ben Affleck drama, but she’s generously allowed me a moment to discuss my take on it, in relation to Ben and Matt Damon’s friendship. My take is pretty much the same as it’s always been regarding Ben: he’s an addict, obviously, but besides that, he’s addicted to sabotaging himself. He’s been self-sabotaging for some-odd twenty years. He doesn’t just sabotage his sobriety, he sabotaged his marriage and romantic relationships, his films and work commitments, and he sabotages his friendships too. He’s toxic across the board, and it wouldn’t surprise me if Matt Damon had learned many years ago that Ben really isn’t the ideal best friend. As much as the public wants them to be “Matt & Ben” forever and ever, they’ve grown up and apart since Good Will Hunting. So what do you make of this?
As Ben Affleck seeks treatment for alcohol addiction, his lifelong friend Matt Damon continues to be a big part of his support system. A source tells PEOPLE the actor, 47, “has and will always be there for Ben.”
“They have been friends for years,” the insider says, adding, “Let’s remember that they each have their own families and careers to deal with.”
A second source confirms to PEOPLE Damon has been involved in supporting Affleck since he entered rehab on Aug. 22. Damon is currently filming the movie Ford v. Ferrari in Los Angeles.
The two recently won the screen rights to a true crime story about an ex-cop who rigged the bi-annual McDonald’s Monopoly game in 2001. Affleck is to direct Damon in the project, which marks their first film together in over a decade.
“Let’s remember that they each have their own families and careers to deal with…” Yeah, as I was saying. Matt wishes him well. Matt doesn’t want to see Ben in trouble. But Matt also doesn’t want to be infected with Ben’s toxicity at this point. Besides, I’m pretty sure that Matt is all-in with his real best friend Chris Hemsworth these days. They’re so close that Matt has reportedly bought a house close to the Hemsworths in Byron Bay, Australia. Which is completely fair and makes perfect sense – Matt shouldn’t feel like he has to “be there” to support Ben at this moment, just because they were super-tight 20 years ago. Matt has other stuff on his plate.
Photos courtesy of Getty.
Matt only supports people who can benefit him and at the moment, Ben is toxic..
Ben has always been toxic. Those people can still be fun when you’re in your 20ies but with a family and career I can see why one would maintain a little distance.
Matt and Ben have been friends for years. They’ve been vacationing and working together constantly since Good Will Hunting. So I’m puzzled at the claim they haven’t been friends since then. Even the People article said they recently signed on to do a film together. I do think they have grown apart the last few years, specifically when Ben and Jennifer seperated.
Sometimes you outgrow your friends. Or they outgrow you. I don’t think this is really any different than most of us who have a f***up friend where it was madcap and crazy when you were running around together in your 20’s, but now that you’re in your 40’s and you have a career and family, it’s not cute anymore and all you’re really doing is picking up after them and apologizing for them and it gets tiresome.
Yep, this. Especially with Matt’s out-of-the-industry wife, they probably don’t have much time or tolerance for Ben’s messiness over the years.
Exactly right.
Matt keeps his head down, stays out of the tabs, and focuses on his family. Ben cannot keep his s–t together to LITERALLY save his life. There’s a lot of shared history there, sure, but I can see why Matt wouldn’t want this mess anywhere near his kids.
Matt grew up. He is faithfully married and has a gaggle of kids.
Ben tried to act “grown up” he got married, had kids, but couldn’t give up the young women and alcohol.
Faithfully? LMAO
Do you know something we don’t? We can say a lot of things about Matt Damon, but I do genuinely believe he’s devoted to his wife and their kids.
Millenial:
Devoted to his wife and kids. lol
This is the same thing people thought about Arnold, Brad Pitt, McCain, Cosby etc etc
Matt Damon just hides it well.
I really think that Matt & Ben will be BFFs but in a ‘I’ve known you for almost my whole life, I love you to the moon and I support you BUT I need to live my own life” way.
I think after all these years, they are more like siblings than just old friends…I don’t know what’s the protocol regarding Ben’s relapses in Afflecks’family but Matt, most likely, gets an update and may be emailed Jen to ask whether everything is under control… Ben is not a toddler, and they all have got an army of assistants, so there’s no necessity for Matt to be physically present all the time.
If Matt does stay away / keep his distance it makes sense. He’s got his own career, and his family to take care of, so Ben’s messy ways have to be handled by someone else. I can see he’ll be there for Ben in a “hey if you need to talk, buddy” kind of way–but not the “I gotta pick up after you again” way. I’m sure Matt has already done that a bunch of times we don’t know about and I’m sure it gets old–quick!
Matt started ghosting Ben when the nanny drama started. Only pictures of them together since are of them trying to get Casey an Oscar. I’m sure his wife was like “are there pics of you with this nanny lily Tom Brady in the plan?”. Matt was like by Ben!
I think they’re still friends, but what can Matt Damon actually do for him? He can’t cure alcoholism.
With the kids of money Affleck has for treating his alcoholism through rehab, I’ll admit I’m a little surprised he can’t make himself better. Regular people don’t have those resources. He could probably have a therapist on speed dial if he wanted.
Hang on… @Toni what do you know?
I think they are friends, but not as close as they once were. I imagine it can be frustrating watching a friend sabotage themselves over and over again. Sometimes you need to walk away from toxic relationships.
In a world of Ben and Matt’s, I would pick Ben ten times over. And I’m not talking looks. I’m talking morality. That’s how untouchable Matt is to me. But that’s just me.
The last time they went on vacation was in January when he took Lindsay and Matt brought Lucy, they went to South Africa supposedly. But other than that he’s been hanging out with Hemsworth. Who I feel has a douchy vibe, I have no idea why, but that’s what I get from him.
I think they are both douchebags. I think Matt Is better at using his “non-industry wife” to make him look like a good guy. He isn’t. Neither of them are. With that said I wish Ben luck getting his life back on track for kids sake.
Nah. There’s no breaking the Matt/Ben/Casey bond. I agree with what another poster said – they’re probably more like siblings at this point. We know Ben still spent Sunday’s at Matt’s watching sports up until at least this last year. They’ve signed on to the McDonalds movie together. Ben was at Matt’s Dad’s funeral a few months ago, and Matt talked about how close Ben and his Dad have always been. I don’t doubt Matt is keeping his distance from the drama publicly – have to remember that Matt himself was a big part of the negative stories around #metoo and Harvey W. So, it behooves him to put some distance publicly for many reasons since he’s had to weather his own bad PR this year – but I have no doubt they’re still tight. Think they always will be.
Ben had been flying back & forth on both coasts to visit Lindsay. Matt was also friends with Chris Hemsworth & spent alot of time in Australia with his family. Matt strikes me as having alot of friends, while Ben strikes me as more of a loner, except for the women. ( I could be wrong , though) There have also been also comments made that Ben has never been alone . I think what we know about Ben’s health now also plays a part in that. IMO, I think Ben has been in rehab more than 3 times as reported. I think it was kept out of the press.
I think Ben & Matt will always be friends…
So there is a blog post up today claiming Matt and his family moved into a pricey penthouse in a famous building in Brooklyn heights in New York City. A couple of years ago there was an article out there that Matt tried to enroll his daughters in a prep school in Brooklyn but they were “too late” and the school would not cave and make an exception. Looks like Matt will no longer be living down the street from Ben. Also Matt and his family spent a good part of the year in Australia with the hemsworths.