Over the weekend Ben Affleck and Lindsay Shookus were seen out together. I didn’t cover it because it seemed predictable to me, but mainly because it was right before the Oscars and there were plenty of other stories to discuss. On Saturday night they were seen out to dinner at hotspot Katsuya, where multiple paparazzi photographed them. Those are the photos here. I have to say I like to see Lindsay’s casual style. (I dress like she does, which is probably lazy/basic by some people’s standards, but there’s a formula to it and I like it.) Ben looks sober in that he’s dressed nicely, he’s not wearing his typical attire of a stained shirt and sloppy pants, and he’s debloated.
The Daily Mail had photos of them getting Starbucks iced coffees (I’m so jealous of people in warm climates) the next day so they definitely spent the night together. This isn’t the first time we’ve heard that they’re back together after their August breakup. Early this month reports said they were back in contact and then Lindsay was photographed outside Ben’s NY apartment on Valentine’s Day. So now it’s official, with US reporting that they’re back together and that Lindsay is the one who contacted Ben again first. (That was in this article, not the one I quote below.)
They’re giving love another shot. Ben Affleck and his ex-girlfriend Lindsay Shookus “are totally back on” six months after their August split, a source exclusively reveals in the new issue of Us Weekly.
After more than a year of dating [Affleck and Shookus] called it quits around the same time Affleck began a brief fling with Playboy model Shauna Sexton and subsequently entered (and completed) a 40-day rehabilitation program for alcohol abuse. Now, says the source, “they’ve picked up right where they left off.”
Earlier this month, a source told Us that Shookus had reached out to Affleck. Now, while another source notes that the pair “wouldn’t exactly say they were totally back together,” they’re definitely “hanging out.” And the first source says things have been “easy” this time around. For more on their rekindled romance, check out the video above.
The video on US claims the source says “they’re very comfortable together and happy to be back in each other’s lives.” Also that he “had some stuff to work through” but now is doing well with sobriety. At least they say he’s sober. The earlier US article only mentioned that Ben was “in a much better place health-wise and is a lot happier,” so I was worried that the PR people were deliberately omitting whether he was sober. (Not that he isn’t, but I can’t blame them for phrasing it vaguely.)
Anyway Ben broke up with Lindsay last summer by being photographed out to dinner with a 22 year-old Playboy model. They cheated on their spouses with each other for years though so she know what she’s getting. Now that they’re a couple again for a hot minute someone has to be pushing this narrative, and Ben is benefitting from it as it makes him look stable. They stepped out the night before The Oscars too. I wonder how Jennifer Garner is doing in her new relationship. Surely we’ll get an update soon.
They had dinner at Katsuya? Good lord I’ve set foot in LA twice and even I know you don’t go there if you’re trying to stay undercover. They’re back on and want us to know it.
Oh we will definitely get an update from Jennifer soon. Set your watch.
Wow, Ben looks…..clean? Yeah, clean. I think he is still drinking.
Dammit Lindsay, I told you to run.
OT: It’s currently -20C, and I’m jealous of those in warmer climates, too.
Ben looks clean at least. Jennifer is good to rid of him.
He cheats, they break up. She takes him back. Rinse repeat.
Why do men do this crap? So entitled to treat women like they are dispensable whenever you want to go bang some strange
Lindsay is a smart, good looking woman with a really cool job. Why, oh why doesn’t she go find herself a fine young specimen of a man to cavort around with so I can live vicariously through her?
Lindsey is good looking? Bish where? Her face is beat.
Hahahaha hahaha hahahaha hahaha hahahaha hahaha hahahaha
Maybe Ben is a really good lay?
I agree with one out of the 3 assessments Welsie gave of shookus. And I really doubt if Ben is a good lay. I think it has nothing to do with sex but everything to do with charm and as Marge Sherwood said “when you have his attention you feel like you’re the only person in the world”. Lindsay has been treated as so disposable though and I think Ben is just too lazy to look for anyone new.
She makes Kellyanne “Con”way look freshfaced.
Ouch – BURNNNNNN. Good one lol.
Ben looks better when he’s a bloated drinker, frankly.
Knowing how these two treat each other and the people they supposedly “loved” they deserve each other and both sure as Hell deserve the rode hard and put away wet look they both rock nowadays.
I guess by now they have a common friend circle and she’ll likely never have a Bentley on her own but I’d rather be alone than with his hot mess.
I feel bad for her daughter living through all of his ups and downs because her mom doesn’t have healthy enough boundaries to keep her daughter’s life separate from the man she dates. Too typical and sad.
They completely deserve each other. Obviously, she is a glutton for punishment.
Why did Garner take him back all those times after he cheated? What is it about this man that women can’t stay away?
A colleague of mine is like him: he cheats and is in and out of relationships but usually gets his way. My colleague is extremely charming, a good listener and appears very honest – which he isn’t. And women fall for his BS all the time. I used to share an office with him and he would freely talk about his affairs (at one point he was dating 3 women at the same time), show me messages by his lovers etc.
I do not hate Lindsay’s outfit here- I could never wear jeans so tight myself but she looks pretty cute in her jeans and little booties.
When I was in my 30s, I was in a relationship like this – and I’m smart with a good job etc… Unfortunately low self esteem combined with the excitement of a charismatic (and not sober) individual found me making all sorts of excuses for his behavior. We really got along well and had fun together so I overlooked many things that I now would immediately know was a sign he would never be good for me. We would take breaks and then start back up for years until I smartened up (and he got really bad). I hope she gets smart about it for her child’s sake. I like to think if I was a parent then that I wouldn’t have fallen into that trap. It was just me being a dumb ass. Lesson learned
Lindsay is looking really rough yikes
I don’t think he looks good here (maybe ever). His eyes are puffy and that last picture is very “Death of a Salesman”. Meh.
I really don’t think it’s going to work unless they are both sober. Hopefully she learned her lesson last time. Maybe she can stop after a few glasses of wine, but he obviously can’t.
There’ll be more playmates in their future if she is still drinking around him and/or with him.
I’m not blaming her for his behavior, but there are consequences to drinking around a struggling alcoholic (who also has a history of cheating.)
Ever notice that summertime is when their relationship works? Would it have anything to do with the fact that SNL is on hiatus & she has the entire summer to spend with Ben?
Huh? It’s not summer and SNL isn’t on hiatus.
Countdown to more drama in 3, 2, 1.
In the last photo of Ben he looks surprisingly young – for someone who has been in and out of rehab, I would expect to see a bit of “wear and tear”. Conversely, his girlfriend appears to be around Ben’s age – as opposed to someone in their 30’s… Maybe it’s photoshop, but that’s what I see when I look at these photos.
@ Claire
I agree! And he looks like he did 15 yrs. ago!
Good for him!