Ben Affleck Plays Poker Wasted at Casino After Halloween Party https://t.co/RMt0c5JL8L
— TMZ (@TMZ) October 29, 2019
There are a lot of updates to Ben Affleck’s relapse on Saturday night, which was caught on video by the paparazzi. In that TMZ video of Ben Affleck stumbling drunk to a waiting SUV, a very young-looking blonde woman poses with him for a photo. It’s unclear if it’s the same woman in the chauffeured SUV with him afterwards, but now that I’ve seen the photos of this new musician he’s dating, I’m sure it is. Ben was later photographed playing poker with her sitting next to him. He got $20k in chips and won $1,500, even though he was so wasted he couldn’t sit straight. The video and photos made it look like a hookup, not someone he’s been seeing for a while, but US Magazine claims Ben met this woman, a musician named Katie Cherry, a few months ago after matching with her on that app Raya. In June there were stories that Ben was trying to make sure he was healthy before he started dating again so it must have been soon after that. Here’s that report.
New couple alert! Ben Affleck is dating musician Katie Cherry a year after finalizing his divorce from Jennifer Garner, a source exclusively tells Us Weekly.
Affleck, 47, met Cherry on the private dating app Raya “a few months ago,” according to the source, and the duo have seen each other on a few occasions since — including the West Hollywood Halloween party at which they were photographed on Saturday, October 26. “They’re very into each other,” the source adds.
A second source, however, tells Us that the relationship “nothing that serious at this time.”
According to her profile the social network Stage 32, Cherry studied film scoring at Berklee College of Music and is currently working as a film composer in Los Angeles. She has other celebrity connections, too: Tara Reid called Cherry her “best friend” in 2017, and Trey Songz follows her on Instagram.
Affleck’s night out with Cherry on Saturday made headlines the following day when he admitted that the party was a “slip” in his sobriety journey…
For her part, Garner, who separated from Affleck in 2015 before the former couple finalized their divorce in 2018, is “upset” about the slip but is “always supportive,” a source previously told Us. The Argo director also met with his sober coach on Sunday, according to a source.
Yeah someone is trying to cover for Ben after he was seen out with this woman. I doubt they’ve been together for months, he’s incapable of keeping a secret that long. To be fair they didn’t say that, but it’s hinted that it’s more serious. It was less than a month ago that Ben was seen out with Steve Jobs’ widow. Then last week Ben was seen out with someone else, a brunette. No shade on dating around, it’s just that I doubt it’s serious. In fact E! and People say it isn’t, which makes me think that Ben’s team is trying to play both sides again. I looked for Cherry’s Instagram and I think I found it but it’s private. Other sites have dug up a lot of information and details about her. She’s 33 and used to date a boxing trainer who worked with Jennifer Garner last year. In fact she seems to have been with that guy around the same time he worked with Garner, but it’s possibly a coincidence. Also she’s worked with Timbaland and she’s from Buffalo, New York. You can see photos of her here, on Facebook. Cherry was seen leaving Ben’s house on Monday morning and driving his car. Remember when he used to lend his car to that nanny?
Also I read and respect your opinions about alcoholics having slipups and about some people being able to drink responsibly again. I completely understand that. I was sober for two years, from 28 to 30 and I drank again after that until I was 43. I wasn’t a complete mess that whole time at all and there were nights I moderated fine. I still wish I never would have gone back to it. I do think, from experience, that people who have drinking problems are in for a world of hurt if they try to go back to it again. I hope Ben is committed to staying sober.
Photos credit: Avalon.red, Backgrid and via Twitter
I think we can safely say, judging by Ben’s poor choices when he drinks and how his life spins out of control that he is NOT one of those people who can self-moderate.
Addiction is a cruel beast. I too had a slip this weekend after 2 years of sobriety. I can only hope that I continue to llive sober again. And I hope this was just a “slip” for Ben. It doesn’t matter where you come from, your social status, your economic status. Addiction can happen to anyone.
Wishing you the Best jules ~
And thank you for the reminder that it can happen to anyone.
Feeling for you Jules & hope you get right back on the wagon. You did it before, you know how to do it & you can. You got this & sending you all the best.
I had a slip up this week too. I’m not happy with myself, but I have been struggling with this disease for 10+ years. I refuse to beat myself up because that will send me into a tailspin. The worst part is disappointing your loved ones. Fortunately for me, I have no children- just parents and brothers who are so OVER IT. I wish this mess on no one!
Do not beat yourself up. There is an underlying reason we are drawn to it. In my case it is anxiety. It is not the best treatment for it. But, it sometimes seems to help. But, there is a reason why someone drinks.
Beating yourself is the worse thing you can do because it keeps you in one spot. I know what that’s like, even though I don’t suffer with addiction. Moving forward is the most important thing. Good luck to you.
Good luck to all of you struggling. I’ve watched so many fight it and have lost friends to the many ways it manifests, many because of the alienation. You love, but the loved one can’t control the disease, and people eventually can’t lose themselves to a loved one’s addiction. Sometimes, if we are fortunate, the addicted loved one comes back sober, but it takes a lot of loss for most people to get to that point, in my experience. It’s hard to pull away from loved ones who are addicted, especially when you know what kinds of things may have gotten them there, but we eventually have to. It has caused me a lot of survivors guilt. You hope that the loved ones who you learned about the world with will be in your lives when you are older, but that’s not always the case. Fortunately, people who fight can and do change. Some never do, though.
I think that Ben will be like this for a long time, and now I feel bad for him. Having money makes it easier on a lot of levels, but he gets his money by having all of us stare at him. That’s too much pressure to carry while working to treat your disease. He’s trying to maintain it all. Is he still a problematic douche? Yes. I still feel for him and for everyone who is made to feel like they should be able to control it. It’s a disease.
@jules, Sorry to hear that but don’t give up. A slip isn’t the end. You have the courage to admit your slip so that means you’re strong enough to overcome it. Godspeed to you.
@jules and @hildog
A slip up is just that – a slip up. Someday I hope you’ll both be able to look back and know it was just a minor blip on the radar. Best of luck to you both <3
Booze, gambling and women. Ben has three addictions.
God, is he only dating people from Buffalo now? First Lindsay Shookus and now this girl. My poor hometown!
Also, this shouldn’t even be this girls first problem. The fact that Tara Reid called her her best friend should be the biggest wake up call.
Yup, that’s an eyebrow-raiser all by itself.
Who cares? Anyone but Garner, she’s overplayed her media game.
Whatever happened to that nanny? Serious question. Didn’t seem to parlay it into stardom but did she get a big enough payday to retire? Doubt she’s gotten much work as a nanny after that.
she moved back to the island (the virgin islands? or was it somewhere in mexico?!) with her previous boyfriend/fiance. she got re-engaged. Thats the last i heard
Thanks for the info! I’m glad for her that she got out of L.A., honestly. Sensible choice.
they’re rolling out the girl b/c they need someone to blame for his slip up.
Yeah, it’s disgusting how every time he messes up, the girl he’s with gets the blame. And Garner is of course there to save him. *rolls eyes*
Yes, Ben screws up, his new girl is too blame and then Jennifer is a doormat for dealing with him etc. The only person responsible for this mess is Ben…
I’m having deja vu. same story, different girl.
People give Garner a hard time, but I think she’s just trying to keep the guy alive. He is so self-destructive that he will wind up messed up or dead. He doesn’t just have a drinking problem; he’s got a gambling problem. So, if he’s drinking and gambling again, I’d say he’s had a complete falling off the wagon. He probably needs to go back to rehab again. No shade and no judgment. He needs help again. I hope he’s asking someone for it.
I agree with you.
100%
I’m with you.
she may or may not still LOVE him, but he IS the father of her children and I’m sure she wants him healthy for their sake. makes her life easier if she doesn’t have to make excuses for him to them.
Agree with you completely. I don’t get the hate for Jennifer. She seems like a sweet person and she just wants the father of her kids to keep it together and stay alive. There’s nothing underhanded about that.
100%👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
Hate for Jennifer? She’s awesome, sweet and smart, what is there to hate? She’s her own person and does not fake it. She’s a fantastic mother as well. Geez, people, find someone worthy of hate if you have to hate, but leave the good people alone.
hate is a strong word. i think people felt she left a little self respect on the table, at times . . .
she is sweet, though.
why is he so chronically self-destructive, I wonder?
I agree and also think his addiction problem is very serious. I’m seeing a pattern where a new hookup seems to bring on a relapse. Probably the sexual attraction is hitting the same addictive dopamine pathways and send him spiralling. This is in no way the fault of the woman he is with but he needs to be aware of how dating is actually too dangerous for him right now. He needs to stay single to stay sober for quite a while imo.
Isn’t it interesting how Garner is dating that guy for over a year, yet we never see pap pics. But there are pap pics of her with her kids daily. And now she’s papped with Ben again after his drunken mess.
IKR
I’m sure he wants it that way. And if I were him OR Ben’s latest I would refuse pap strolls too.
To be fair—– no comment on how these particular pap strolls began but at this juncture the paps know Garner’s schedule. Even we know she does the school run on weekdays and on weekends there is church and sports.
I keep saying, I don’t buy that she’s seriously dating John Miller at all. Even Victor Garber called her and Miller “just good friends” in a comment to US recently. With Affleck, I think there is more to it than “the kids” for Garner. He was the “love of her life” and that statement was made after they’d already split and all of the affairs and other crap – that kind of sentiment doesn’t change easily, if ever.
You could at least attempt to be accurate. Victor Garber has made a bunch of statements about John Miller, saying that he’s met him, he’s a great guy, they’re adorable together, etc. He has never indicated that they are merely friends. You always come into the Affleck/Garner threads and try to push this angle, and it’s really bizarre.
I’m being accurate. In a Sept. US article, Garber’s exact words about John were, “He’s a great guy and they’re friends … They’re good friends.” And I’m not pushing any angle. I just don’t think she’s dating John in any significant way. She just attended a wedding on Sat. evening with no John in sight. The man never goes anywhere with her, but yet she has no problem orchestrating pap walks with Ben. Yeah, it is a little odd to me. Nothing bizarre about it. Plenty of celebs “date” or pretend to date for various reasons.
JoJo – Will turn an item about Ben being a drunken mess into an item about Jennifer and her “agenda”, forever the apologist for Ben being a disaster, got to give it to you for being forever loyal to Ben no matter what.
When they were dating and she was doing press for Electra she called Ben a good friend but only once, she then refused to talk about him to the press. I remember because it was in the tabloids that they were dating and I thought it was oddly reticent at least compared to Bennifer1. They also never did red carpets together until Argo. That was her idea as we know now.
Her fave PR outlets have been consistent in maintaining that she wants to keep this relationship private after the hoopla that she went through being a public couple with Affleck.
Rehab only works of you WANT to stop. Really want to. Not if your friends or family are pushing you into it. I’m 6 years sober in January, and I’m not one of those people that can ever drink again if I want to have control of my life.
This girl is a “musician” ? 😂😂 She’s obviously a damn hooker! Ben is just pathetic.
Ummm… Berklee College of Music is very highly regarded. As she’s a graduate, I’d say she is a musician and not a “musician.”
Ok, then she is a musical hooker. There are plenty of college students/grads who are hookers. But go ahead and be all in on defending Ben’s musical hooker that helps him drink.
Are you saying that musicians can’t be pretty? That a young woman in a black dress with long blonde hair is automatically a “damn hooker”? Puhleeze….
I took a look and she reminds me of another Shauna Sexton, underwear posing and all. If that’s who he chooses from Raya it shows you where he’s at now.
That’s not her on FB, it’s another Katie Cherry.
I just want to remind everyone making the “poor Ben, addiction so sad” comments that this man is a serial sexual assaulter. There are people far more deserving of your pity.
TCBC, you aren’t lying, but my sympathy is for the addiction because I’ve seen it with loved ones and acquaintances in real time. Ben is still a douche who believes that his sexual harassment and predation are his birthright. He gets to display it all for everybody. His addiction doesn’t excuse his misogyny, but he can’t work on any of that until he deals with this, at least based on what I’ve seen.
hmmm. . . .
Watching someone else drunkenly gamble. So fun. What a whirlwind romance.
This so much. What a lucky lady!
I’m surprised she’s so accomplished. She can do better.
Lmao! She is friends with Tara Reid and once dated The Situation from Jersey Shore. I’m pretty sure Ben is as good as she can do.
LOL @ “musical hooker” 😂
E online is saying he’s not with her. Like at all. And then she’s papped with his car. Weird. Apparently this chick has been trying to hit it big for 15 years. She’s not ugly, but she’s also not gorgeous either. I wonder how old she is?
I feel for Ben. Being an addict sucks. Doing it in front of the whole world, I can’t even imagine! To all the people struggling, know that you are not alone. Been sober 13 years. I’ve got so much time under me now, sometimes (time) it’s the only thing that keeps me from drinking. But I still miss it everyday. Crazy how I can still remember how alcohol tastes when I haven’t had it in so long!
It says right in the article that she’s 33.
Marietta, you are a shero!!!
One day at a time and you look up and it’s been years. The small everyday battles are hardest fought. So glad for you, and grateful that it’s possible to live with if you are vigilant. I’m sorry that it happened to you, but you give a lot of us hope.
This girl had to see how drunk Ben was yet she went along for the ride! If I was newly dating someone ( famous or not), that would be an extreme turn-off seeing someone so drunk they can’t even walk. She would also have to be living under a rock to not know that Ben Affleck is a known alcoholic! Sadly, these women do not care about his well-being just as a human being. Unfortunately, i think all his addictions have come back!
I think that Jennifer will always support him because of their children but I think she knows that Ben is struggling & wants Ben to be in their children’s lives….
I know after watching that TMZ video I felt like puking myself. That dizzy drunk feeling I never would want to experience again. I don’t know how he kept it in during the ride to the gambling place. Lots of experience I guess.
ran home to mommy
I got sober when I was 26. I was sober for 16 years. I had a ton of stressors in my life and that addict part of my brain told me it would be ok and I could drink in moderation. I went downhill fast. I’m trying to get back and it is such a struggle. I wish I had never had that drink after such a long sobriety. Alcoholism is no joke.
Many hugs to you.
Rooting for you and your well-being, Erin. Hang in there. 💗