Ben Affleck celebrated his 47th birthday last week. A source told People Magazine at the time that Ben “is really enjoying his summer with the family.” He was spotted at Disneyland a couple of days before his birthday with his son, Samuel, seven, where they went on most of the rides. Ben celebrated another milestone recently. A source (Ben’s hardworking PR team) confirmed to People that he has a year of sobriety. He said to be in a good place and to be peacefully coparenting his three children with ex Jennifer Garner.
The actor, who revealed in October that he had completed a 40-day stay at a treatment center for his battle with alcoholism, officially marked one year of being sober on Thursday — and according to a source, he’s doing better than ever.
“Ben is in a great place both in his recovery and life,” a source close to Affleck, 47, tells PEOPLE. “He continues to want to be the best father and friend he can be.”
Besides working on his personal recovery, the source said he’s been devoted to his family and friends — especially his ex-wife Jennifer Garner and their three kids, Violet, 13, Seraphina, 10, and Samuel, 7 — as well as his work commitments.
“He and Jen do amazingly well at co-parenting the children,” the source says. “They have shared a great summer with the kids doing outings, travels, etc. They have a very trusting and special relationship.”
“Ben’s relationship with Jen is strong. She’s really supportive of Ben, and they work very closely on parenting their kids,” the source continues.
“Ben has found balance between his work and home life,” adds the source. “He remains committed to a number of treatment and wellness methods that focus on his health.”
That’s really cool, I’m happy for him and his family, and this is the best gift he can give them. I also can’t believe it’s been a year already, but it has. Time goes fast when you’re gossiping. I hope he stays sober one day at a time for a very long time. I wonder why they have that line about “a number of treatment and wellness methods.” I think he may not want to break the 11th tradition or is using AA along with other methods to stay sober, which is smart. He should keep that chip in his wallet with his change (dudes don’t carry change usually though) and look at it every day. You don’t want to have to trade that in for a white one. Also now that Ben has been sober a year, I bet he’s going to get a new girlfriend soon.
Photos credit: Backgrid and WENN
That’s awesome.
Good for him. I hope he maintains it.
I imagine that it’s difficult to be sober as a celebrity (not that it’s easy for anyone), when you’re surrounded by people drinking and partying. Hopefully he’s had enough self awareness to separate himself from that lifestyle so he can maintain his sobriety.
I stopped drinking a number of years ago and I can tell you that drinking is extremely pervasive everywhere. It doesn’t bother me when people drink around me but I know everyone’s different and Ben’s lifestyle was pretty hard-partying. Sounds like he is spending a lot of time with family, which is probably a very safe place for him.
Hope he keeps it up too, he looks healthy and well.
It’s brilliant news for him and his family. I guess ultimately he has the choice whether or not puts himself in those situations. For non celebs in his position, they might still have to face social gatherings and works parties. I don’t think it’s overly different.
I’m in awe of his relationship with Jenifer at this point. He’s really lucky to have her in his life. So many parents find it hard to get along even without addiction involved. While getting along and co parenting is a two way street, Jen must have been through some hard times and turned a blind eye to a lot to have made this work.
I rarely drink because I come from a family of drunks and it’s not a cycle I want to continue. I have never cared if others drink around me and often volunteer to be the designated driver so that my friends can have fun and I know they’re getting home safely. But it is amazing to me how people can be such assholes if you decline to drink! I feel so bad for addicts whose health (and survival) depends on staying sober who get treated like shit because they’re refusing drinks. Those of you trying to stay sober, keep up the good fight!
Congrats to Ben. That’s an awesome accomplishment!
I have some empathy for the multiple methods bit. I go to AA, but I also see a psychiatrist and took Antabuse for my first year. Getting sober can be hard, and I think it makes sense to be open to multiple supports.
Congratulations! Good on you for being in your own corner & using what will help to increase your chances of getting & staying sober. It is so hard but so worth it!
Congratulations! Simply recognizing the problem and taking those first steps are huge.
Good – I hope this time sticks for him.
It’s great that he’s going to AA, but my nosy question is Jen going to Alanon? If not she’ll ultimately find one just like him or worse. It’s all anonymous so I’ll never know, but I am curious.
Or you know…not. My mom didn’t go to any sort of support meetings and was married to my alcoholic, drug addict dad. Finally divorced him and met my stepdad who was the best father a little girl like me could ask for.
That’s great for you (and I’m not saying that in jest). While there are no studies published, I can say anecdotally, I see a lot of people affected by alcoholism and, while they many not marry another one, odds are pretty good that at least one of their children will have a substance abuse problem.
My parents had 2 children, me and my brother. Neither of us are addicts and neither of us married addicts. My dad had no family history of it. It runs rampant in my mom’s side though but some have broken that cycle too. Kinda just depends on each individual person.
A lot of people have substance abuse problems and tying it strictly to the use of alanon makes me think of the saying “correlation is not causation”. Most families are affected by a drug & alcohol addiction in our culture because it is a very common human affliction & hard to get over in our society. I think Angela’s point of “breaking the cycle” is where it’s at- how you do it is up to you but breaking it is the point. Kudos to Angela’s mom!
I worked with a reformed drinker once who drank constantly while raising her six children. All six became alcoholics. She would announce this and then loudly proclaim it was not her fault they were alcoholics, it was their own choice. I thought she was partly right and partly wrong.
Regarding Alanon, use what works for you. My mother went to it and stopped because the women there were horrible. It didn’t help her at all and she never divorced my alcoholic, abusive father.
I went to CODA, aka Codependents Anonymous, and it helped me more than Alanon helped my mother. Many people who are with alcoholics – and who grow up in abusive environments – are codependent. I’m looking for a competent psychologist to continue to help me as well.
Good luck everyone!
He spoke in support of the dude who started Refuge Recovery, which is similar to AA but Buddhist based, and has worked well for lots of people. Use ALL the tools to get & stay sober and find what recipe works for you. So happy for him & his family.
Wanted to add that he publicly spoke in defense of the man because he was accused of sexual harassment & misconduct by some of his members, so Ben swooped in to say he was one of the good guys. So glad that Ben didn’t have that experience (major eye roll here).
That’s not true, he spoke in support of him in the context of a recovery centre contract dispute. When the sexual harassment allegation was brought up, Affleck’s rep said on the record that he had no personal relationship with the instructor beyond recovery sessions and could not speak to those allegations.
The trademark dispute was in direct result to the board of directors asking Noah to step down due to his sexual harassment claims & he was arguing that he owned the trademark to Refuge Recovery.
I never said Ben know him personally, Ben just inserted himself to share his experience when working with Noah after Noah was accused of sexual harassment, which was the reason the board was trying to force him out.
Congratulations Ben!!!!
If ” a number of treatments & wellness methods is working for his sobriety, good for him!!! Whatever works for him!!!
Their children have to be happy seeing their dad well again!
Good for him, there have to be a lot of temptations. My husband is 36 years sober and I have the greatest respect for people who battle alcoholism.
Me too.
So whatever happened with him and Lindsay Shookus? I forget how long ago we were hearing about them hooking back up. It was maybe a couple months after their breakup. Will that be the next story coming out? (Ben’s Doing Well! Ben is Focused on Family! Ben and Lindsay Reunite and Things Are Healthy Now!)
Good for him. He looks so much better too. I hope he sticks with it.
Good for him. Escaping addiction is a hard earned triumph, a long road, and a massive accomplishment.
That said, if we never heard from him again, it would be great.
He wears me out.
I am not interested in his movies, his sex life, his image protection or any of his bullshit.
Incidentally, his movie Argo was AMAZING.
Great for him! It’s hard to believe that Jack in the Box run with Garner was a year ago! It was Aug 23, 2018.
Good for him IF it’s true. I could have sworn when he was with that Lindsey person he was back to drinking on the sly. He lied about a huge back tattoo so wouldn’t surprise me if he’s selling something to the tabloids that’s far from 100% true. A new gf is no doubt on the horizon, hopefully not an already married mom, or his kids babysitter or a vet tech with a thirst for fame…hmm maybe a reality star hopeful or “influencer”!
Good for him. I hope he’s able to maintain sobriety long-term.
I’m glad. I think it is literally saving his life.
Well good for him. I haven’t quite made it there yet, but I’m trying. It’s tough for anyone, let alone people who have unlimited means and are surrounded by yes men. I hope this is true and I wish him well…
Keep fighting the good fight, Hildog. You are worth it.
Congratulations, Ben, I hope you have a chance of happiness !!!
He looks well, good for him on one year clean.
Going to get another girlfriend soon? lol He already has one, he is never without a woman/multiple women in his life. Taking someone public is another thing entirely.
Ben looks great and the kids are well. Nothing wrong with him dating again and moving on with the next phase of his life. Hopefully that can go smoothly for him joint parties or get togethers. There is times for co-parenting and times for single parenting and everyone being able to have their partner attend events without issues or pushback.
I’m still wondering if this is all leading back to some eventual story about a reconciliation between him and Jen. Do I think it would be dumb? Yes. Do I think it would be surprising? No. All I know is that after the May pap stories that showed them at a soccer game acting very cozy, that was followed immediately by a staged outing with her and John Miller, and since then, Ben and Jen have pretty much stopped being papped together.
You’ve been wondering that for the last 4 years. Time to get a life, loser.
That is a it harsh. You don’t have to agree with JoJo but you don’ t have to be so mean either.
@Sonja…take a seat in the window licking section. Your mean is not cute.
Good for him! I’ve been sober 13 years and it’s a hard road. Proud to say after some pretty horrible moments in my life I was able to stay sober (Death & divorce). I wish him the best of luck! The first year they say is the hardest, but for me it was way later, year 3 & year 12.
Here’s hoping he’ll meet someone who is sober and fits in his family life well. Preferably someone not famous, maybe a producer, screenwriter, or director like RDJ’s wife.
He looks fantastic lately so whatever he’s doing is working! Congrats!
He just LOOKS so much better.
I recently fell off the wagon after a year and a half, I’m a little sad and definitely getting back on. It’s just not that fun really or worth it. Nothing dramatic happened and I didn’t get shitfaced but alcohol is just a drain on the body imo. You can always see it in a person when they drink a lot.
I have been following Ben and Jen for years.
My husband grew up in the same neighborhood as Ben. I can tell you for a fact Ben loved her. I do find it very hypocritical of everyone giving Ben all of the credit for his sobriety when we saw Jen drive him to rehab, Jack in the box in hand.
She helped him get sober not because she is a doormat but because she is a good person that wanted Ben to be the best father he could be. Truthfully she wanted time to herself, time to date, visit family and friends.
There was no way she was able to do that until Ben got sober.
I know that if I had three young children with my husband I would expect him to be there to help me raise them. No one tricked him into these pregnancies. I would expect him to take responsibility for his children. I am happy to see he is finally doing that.
Jen deserves a lot more credit then this site ever gives her.
Truer words have never been spoken.