E!: Ben Affleck ‘hasn’t felt the want or need’ to drink since he’s been with Ana de Armas

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Do you guys remember when Lindsay Shookus was touted by the press as Ben’s sober companion? That was less than a year and a half ago. Page Six reported it and they’re one of Ben’s go-to outlets. They wrote that Shookus “was making sure other people weren’t drinking around” Ben at the Triple Frontier premiere, that they would drink coffee together and that “she encourages that instead of alcohol.” It was kind of telling that the narrative around Ben, a grown ass man, was that he needed his partner to keep him sober. (That was the last time Ben and Lindsay were together – after Ben broke up with her by cheating on her with the Playboy model and after he got sober from his last stint rehab. He had a relapse last fall, but he seems to be doing ok since then.)

My point is that the only person responsible for Ben’s sobriety is Ben, but the narrative around him is that his girlfriends are supporting his sobriety. That’s how it should be, but it’s telling, that’s all I’m saying, and now Ana is getting the same treatment:

As a source explained to E! News, De Armas has also been a helpful support in Affleck’s sobriety. For years, the star has battled alcohol addiction and has sought treatment in rehab several times.

“Since Ana has been in Ben’s life, being sober has become easier to manage,” the source said. “She came into his life and has given him everything he wants and needs in a partner. He’s very satisfied with Ana and isn’t looking for a coping method. She has a vivacious personality and is a very talented actress.”

According to the latest source, “She’s wonderful with his kids and very loving. It’s hard to put into words how happy he is with her. She fills him up and he doesn’t need anything else.”

Logistically, alcohol is not a prominent aspect of the actress’ lifestyle, which has benefited Affleck. “Drinking isn’t part of the equation with Ana,” the source explained. “She’s very supportive and she doesn’t party or make alcohol a big part of her life. It’s not what they do as a couple or a part of their relationship. He really hasn’t felt the want or need since they have gotten into a relationship.”

Overall, Affleck is in a good place. “He’s working out a lot and feeling great,” a second source said. “He continues to focus on his family and his new relationship. It’s been a great few months for them as a couple.”

[From E! Online]

Ben does look sober and you can tell he’s working out a lot. Just read some of those quotes about his drinking, especially the one I put in the title. Yes your partner is supposed to feel fulfilling and be supportive, but Ben should be sober for Ben not because “he hasn’t felt the need or want” to drink now that he’s in love. That makes it sound conditional.

Ben Affleck and Ana De Armas enjoy a nice afternoon walk with their dogs

Ben Affleck and girlfriend Ana de Armas can't contain their joy!

Ben Affleck's girlfriend Ana de Armas pulls down his mask for a kiss at a beach photoshoot

Photos credit: Backgrid

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84 Responses to “E!: Ben Affleck ‘hasn’t felt the want or need’ to drink since he’s been with Ana de Armas”

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  1. FrenchGirl says:

    It is Probably why the paps are photographed the delivery of alcohol at his home several Times

  2. Chartreuse says:

    She fills him up.

    Ben needs to learn to fill Ben up.

    • Renee says:

      You said it before I did. Exactly!

    • Liz version 700 says:

      Yep! He drains his partners dry then blames them when he goes off the rails grow up dude

      • Peaches says:

        100%. And it sounds like he’s throwing every other relationship under the bus. Basically saying Ana is perfect and he doesn’t need to cope with anything so he’s not tempted. Versus all the other gf’s/wife who were so terrible…huh. I had such high hopes for Ana, sigh.

      • LidiaJara says:

        Omg yes this exactly Liz! I have _been_ in Ana’s shoes. You can only be the exciting new (young) partner for someone to obsess over for so long, eventually the novelty wears off and they will initiate a whole new pheonix/fire/ashes scenario.

  3. Noki says:

    Ben has one of those faces that even if he has a whiff of alcohol you can immediately tell. He does look physically good and sober right now.

    • Lena says:

      Nope. Not true at all. Look at how many times people here commented on how he looked sober again only for him to show he wasn’t. There are Major red flags here which have to do with someone else being in charge of his sobriety. If he can’t stay sober for his 3 kids we are to believe she is what has done it? It is setting her (and him) up for a fall. She was obvious with a glass of champagne at her b day party in the desert and he isn’t the kind you can drink in front of without him drinking too. I’m sure he thinks he has it under control. Wait until he’s under pressure with work or his relationships again. Nothing has changed with him.

  4. Case says:

    Yikes. This narrative makes me so uncomfortable. It’s not Jennifer or Lindsay’s fault he needed a drink. He has a disease that he alone needs to learn to manage. That’s great if he’s found someone who rarely drinks and is a supportive partner — that’s important! But the way it is phrased here is so toxic. If he feels tempted at some point when attending events with Ana in the future, or because she’s launching into stardom and he’s trying to maintain it, etc., will it be her fault, then? Ick.

    • theothercleo says:

      Honestly? I feel like it’s been quite clear for years that he’s not actually taking full responsability for his addiction and that it is his wife/girlfriends job to manage it. I know a lot of people,including here, claims that this relationship is great and they’re so in love and it’s cute but to me it just seems like …Ben being Ben. I would not be surprised if a year from now he starts cheating with a playboy model and get caught drinking and gambling. And then “sources”” will tell us that all the pap walks and publicity were Ana’s idea and that’s why he felt so bad,and fell off the wagon.

      • whatWHAT? says:

        yeah, all of this.

        and DAMN…THIS part sounds like it came directly from her or her publicist. a little bit over the top in the OMG SHE’S AWESOME AND FARTS RAINBOWS bit.

        “She came into his life and has given him everything he wants and needs in a partner. He’s very satisfied with Ana and isn’t looking for a coping method. She has a vivacious personality and is a very talented actress.”

        According to the latest source, “She’s wonderful with his kids and very loving. It’s hard to put into words how happy he is with her. She fills him up and he doesn’t need anything else.”

      • Theo says:

        Maybe he is already cheating with the playboy model! I think his ego is so huge and he only cares for himself and he cannot control himself. That’s why he wants someone else to be responsible for his addictions. A spoiled man child! Feel sorry for his children, but fortunately they have a good mom.

      • Theo says:

        As for her loving relationship with his kids, she is a new person for them. Seraphina is never with them and she and Violet are loyal to their mother who is their real parent. They are teenagers, at a difficult age and I don’t think they are very happy for their old father and his young girlfriend.

      • A says:

        I mean, didn’t he also seem crazy in love with JLO….until he didn’t?

      • Madelaine says:

        I came here to say that
        – I totally see them lasting and her being pregnant by the end of 2021,
        – his weight loss is a slight turn off,
        – whoever’s trembling hand plucked his eyebrows should think of another day job,
        – his bi-weekly street histrionics have so far failed to make up for how grossly underemployed an actor he is,
        – I wonder how much longer it’ll take before his children realize how much of an embarrasment one of their parents actually is.

    • Meg says:

      His people seem to be deflecting his falling off the wagon to the women in his life which is a gross way to try to peottect his image careerwise

    • detritus says:

      Right?! And not feeling the need to drink is because this New Relationship Energy, not because he’s better.

      It’s concerning he blames his coping mechanisms on others causing him to need to cope. That’s life, my dude. It can’t be sunshine and roses all the time

    • Flamingo says:

      He has just traded his beer goggles for love goggles. They will come off soon enough. Ben like so find women to emotionally support him and then when they can’t or won’t anymore, he goes back to drinking.

  5. Teresa says:

    Such snide bullshit. It is not her support and not anyone else’s lack of support that causes him to drink/not drink (as Kaiser stated) and media coverage like that to me show oh his ex wife and mother of his children was just not quite good enough to keep him from drinking and cheating. Like just say nothing at all or say he’s finally growing to a point where sobriety is becoming easier for him. He doesn’t need to drag others into it.

    • Nikki* says:

      As the kid of two alcoholics, sister of one, and sister-in-law of several, let me tell you that an alcoholic does NOT become sober because of a “better” spouse, and for him to even imply this is very negative AND unawares. Alcoholics stop drinking only when they are ready to. She’d better get ready to attend Al Anon meetings, where she’ll learn to detach herself from taking any responsibility for HIS choices, and he really should know better than to spout this garbage.

      • whatWHAT? says:

        Oh, I don’t think HE is saying this. I fully believe she gave this statement to E Online. the over the top fawning about how talented and vivacious she is?…and, the implication is, Garner was NOT those things so he drank.

      • Liz version 700 says:

        Their statement is disgusting and ignorant on every level. How many times has he been to rehab? Isn’t one of the first rules that you are supposed take responsibility for your own sobriety? Dude the disrespect to his ex and kids is epic. No one can make someone sober.

  6. Darla says:

    That’s a lot to put on a person. I hope this isn’t true. If he’s thinking like this, that’s not a good sign for his future sobriety. And I don’t necessarily believe it’s true. People print any ole isht they feel like making up a lot of the time.

    • Case says:

      I agree with this. I’ve read on here a few times that Page Six is a preferred outlet of some stars and I honestly have a hard time wrapping my head around that one — Page Six is not and has never been reputable as far as I’m aware. I can see stars leaking to People or similar publications with a better reputation, but Page Six? Hmm.

  7. Mia4s says:

    Good god I know what they are going for here but what a horrible implication this headline accidentally makes!

    “He’s staying sober now because Ana is just that amazing! I mean…it’s not like his three children were enough or anything. He kept falling off the wagon when he just had them to think about. Oh also f**k that nag who stayed married to him for a decade.”

    Good lord PR people, use your brains!! 🙄

  8. lucy2 says:

    I’m glad if she is supportive, but wow, that wording is not good. What if she goes out of town eventually to work on a film? What if he does? What if they break up? Saying he’s not drinking because of her is putting way too much pressure and responsibility on her and their relationship. He needs to figure this out for himself, not be reliant on others to make it easy for him.

    • Mia4s says:

      “ What if she goes out of town eventually to work on a film? What if he does?”

      I have a sneaky suspicion that much like with Garner she will be expected to work around his projects and he will get priority. Now if she wants to be “Mrs. Affleck” and spend her time raising a kid or whatever, fine. Otherwise that would be about the worst thing someone in her spot could do.

      • Lizzie says:

        Bingo. I think it’s telling she has no new work lined up (save her projects in post production) and hasn’t booked a new role while Hollywood seems trying to return to its new normal and Ben himself has things in the works (granted most probably won’t see the light of day). So she either has to work around his schedule or she’s choosing not to sign onto anything so she can follow him around and keep an eye on him/him on a tight leash so he won’t stray.

  9. Whiskey Juliet says:

    This is all kinds of ick to me. The burden of Ben’s sobriety should not be placed on his girl. He needs to be a big boy and take responsibility for his own self.

  10. Cerceau says:

    Sounds like he’s replaced his alcohol addiction with an addiction to Ana.

  11. Mtec says:

    It’s sad if he’s putting that responsibility on her. That seems to be his pattern. First Jennifer managed his sobriety, even while he was on-and-off with that model and Shookus, and for a time the responsibility became Shookus’, now his sobriety depends on Ana being “vivacious” and giving him anything he wants and needs—that’s just so not healthy, and so unfair to his partners. It’s not a sustainable way to rehab from addiction, to just put that enormous and complicated responsibility onto someone else and be completely reliant on them not fucking it up (For example: Ana managing her drinking around him, or Shookus managing who gets to be around him).

    Also, I know it sounds good to say that because of all that, that he doesn’t feel like drinking. But to me it sounds like he just replaced one addiction for another—instead of drinking, he’s now obsessed with “vivacious” Ana and his sobriety relies completely on this one person making him happy in this relationship. Again, not healthy and not sustainable. He needs to be the one doing the work, not Ana’s personality. ‘Cause what’s gonna happen when they both get separated by their gigs and are not in this quarantine bubble anymore?

  12. ChellyPie says:

    They’re grossly annoying. But he looks healthier & she is so adorable.

  13. Marietta58 says:

    I think it’s hilarious that they have to throw in there, “She has a vivacious personality and is a very talented actress.”

    Like… Wait, what? What exactly does being a “very talented actress” have to do with anything? This article is from E!, which has pretty much alway been his go to when he needs to get something out there. This has Ben written all over it and he’s about ready to throw Ana under the bus, just like he did with Lindsay. And then after the article about Lindsay, he dumps her again. LOL… just sayin’ that maybe he’s about done with Ana.

  14. ClaireB says:

    This sounds like something from Ana’s side and it makes me feel like she doesn’t understand addiction or mental health and what a healthy relationship should look like. I know she’s in her early 30s, so I expected a little better.

    • whatWHAT? says:

      yeah, I agree with you. so many posters think this came from Ben but I think the fawning language indicates it came from her.

      • msmlnp says:

        Couldn’t agree with this more. I have a spouse who abuses alcohol and struggle with codependency myself. This is something I might have said when I was “less aware”. She seems quite thirsty herself and I could see her issuing something along these lines. People with codependency can be hugely manipulative.

    • Emma33 says:

      Yep. This whole article reads as her first share in Al-anon….”So, I was with this guy and it was so amazing at first! I felt like I had CURED him of his alcoholism…and then…”

  15. Thaisajs says:

    Her publicist is sure working overtime these days.

  16. Mabs A'Mabbin says:

    Just wait. She’s amazing. Sure. She’s amazing TODAY.

    When do these idiot celebrities catch on? Do they ever? Is there ever a point where they look into a mirror and admit, I’m simply in love with falling in love. I’m an actor. My roles change. My face and body change. My purpose changes with each assignment. I perform for the masses. I own my hubris because it veils a blinding truth… I’m superficial and have no depth. My jobs, my characters feed on my existence like a succubus. Falling in love is a nesessary evil, I physically and mentally crave its tangibility. And when they come to truly know the vacuous gas bag before them, it’s time for a costume change. Again.

  17. emmy says:

    This narrative is so dumb. So if he relapses it will be because she had a few less vivacious days? God, he sounds like a giant man-baby.

  18. Joanna says:

    I get so sick of the ongoing narrative that the “right” woman can “fix” a man. If he fails to maintain his sobriety, that’s HIS fault. Geezus

  19. herhighness says:

    I like ana she seems guniene and sometimes it rubs off on people in a good way whats the problem with Ben being happy.

  20. outoftheshadows says:

    Oh, Ana. I know the attention seems worth it, but really, you are talented and super-hot so you. should. run.

    There’s plenty of wealthy dick where that one came from.

  21. MellyMel says:

    Sounds codependent as hell.

  22. StellainNH says:

    I am weary of all the Ben Affleck BS. He has traded one addiction for another. He traded alcohol for famewhoring.

  23. GreenTea says:

    If they make it to marriage, just wait until they have a kid and some of Ana’s vibrancy and and energy needs to be diverted to the child. Ben needs to grow up.

  24. Alex says:

    Since the JLo days I’ve been aware of the celeb gossip around Ben that he’s the sort who only is put together when he’s in a relationship. It’s not a unique quality, it’s just you don’t always see that acted out in front of you, but you see it with Ben and M. Culkin (idk how to spell McCauley and I’m too lazy to look it up)

  25. StrawberryBlonde says:

    Major red flags! Get out Ana! It’s not your job to maintain his sobriety or be the reason he stays sober. This is so toxic. Ben is a grown human, he needs to own his choices and not put them on anyone else.

    I was in a relationship with a very much not sober alcoholic in my early 30s. It was not good. Major red flags that I didn’t understand at the time. One of the last things he said to me the day before I broke up with him was that he just wanted me to keep him out of the gutter. What a messed up thing to say to your partner. It’s not my sole responsibility to keep your life on track, keep you sober, and keep you out of the gutter! As a partner I can be loving and supportive but it is YOUR JOB to deal with your sh!t. He was super into gas-lighting and co-dependent as well. It was not healthy.

    If this is true of Ana and Ben, I hope she gets far away.

  26. Kate says:

    Does anyone else follow the “Let’s not” chick on tiktok? That’s whose voice I hear when I read this bs report about a woman’s vivacious energy “filling up” her man so that he doesn’t need alcohol

  27. a says:

    Ben’s own extensive comments about his addiction earlier this year completely fly in the face of this type of nonsense. He even acknowledged that he’s as or more likely to relapse when things are going very well for him; an addict’s brain tries to convince them they’ve got everything under control.

    He was already an addict in high school. It’s got nothing to do with romantic partners. Sure, they need to support an addict’s sobriety but nothing more.

  28. Jules says:

    They are really going to great lengths to puff up this already bloated relationship. Why the need to try and sell it to us so hard?

  29. Paisley says:

    Ben will end up crushing her heart, alcohol or not.

  30. ce says:

    Managing addiction needs to go deeper than ‘being in a good place’. It’s when times are tough that you truly need to dig deep into sobriety. He doesn’t seem to get that, just keeping finding people/things to make him feel good until he inevitably doesn’t anymore. It’s not a great system but it’s what it is for him. Too bad.
    Where is that dress of hers from???

  31. Lizzie says:

    Why are these two always trying *so* hard to get people to buy them as a legitimate couple? It all reeks of PR in at attempt to drum up interest in their movie, get her more press and recognition and to rehab his image that’s been on the decline for years to the point he was/is seen as an unstable liability. From the over the top (mostly from her side, especially lately), performative pap walks and shoots to these fluffy PR pieces constantly praising Ana with excessive and superfluous details (what does her being a “talented actress” have to do with anything in regards to them?), it’s all them constantly trying to sell them as something they aren’t which is genuine.

    Then this atrocity was put out and they’ve taken it to the next level. First of all, women are not rehab centers for men, which seems to be what this “source” (who clearly doesn’t understand how addiction actually works) is implying. Ben is almost 50 years old, it’s very much on him to stay sober for him. Then it implies that his former family unit, including his three *children* (who he ditched on his birthday this year to go on his midlife crisis motorcycle ride), weren’t enough to make him want to stay sober and keep his life together but Ana’s “vivacious” personality is? Gtfo of here with that, how self serving and absolutely ridiculous.

    As if there wasn’t enough proof these narratives they keep trying to push are total BS, a couple of years ago an article came out with “sources” claiming Ben was doing so well and four days later, Jennifer garner was driving him to rehab.

  32. Cacec04 says:

    I think he’s a narcissist in addition to an alcoholic. He seems like he love-bombs at the beginning of relationships where he tells each partner they’re “better than the others”, “no one understood me like you before”, “I want to be a better man because of you”, and this is just one of those. Then when the honeymoon wears off he’s going to be using blame and pity to cover for his behavior. She’ll be confused because he was “so different “ earlier on and believe his excuses. Ana is younger than him and he knows she’s easier to manipulate…. not that I think she’s completely innocent in all this. She’s definitely using him for the publicity but I don’t think she gets that she’s really in for either. I used to work with addicts and they would often say with the “right” job our partner, they no longer thought about using but that certainly didn’t last. Nothing outside of him is going to “fix” him.

  33. Kebbie says:

    Good God. I don’t know if this messaging is coming from him or her or both but YIKES. They are both destined for disappointment and disaster if this is their mindset.

  34. PineNut says:

    when this ends it will be ugly. for him.

  35. ennie says:

    Give it time, life gives us crisis even if we don’t create them ourselves. It is not her responsibility, nor the other women’s fault

  36. Carolnr says:

    Omg!
    Both of their publicists have to be like WTF do you want a source to quote!?
    This sounds like a collaboration of both Ben & Ana from people commenting on whether Ben is still sober. Ben needs to stay sober for Ben 1st, then his children , & lastly Ana. ( yes in that order)
    I think Ben is sober right now (( & hopefully he stays that way) Jen & Lindsay have both seen the addict side of Ben. This is the just the beginning ” the honeymoon phase”. I hope Ana is buckled up ..she is going for a wild ride & it it is not on that new BMW motorcycle, either!

  37. Laalaa says:

    This explains a lot. He is still addicted, just not to alcohol.

  38. Yanick Chery says:

    I feel that after J.Lo he rebounded with Garner who had a longtime crush on Ben. Now he is getting Latina poontang again, all is right in his world until he cheats with a stripper and dumps Ana. Ana this is your first Hollywood relationship..be careful.

  39. Hmm says:

    He seems like a decent dad and when he is seen with his kids they all look happy to be with him.

  40. serena says:

    The way it’s phrased is so insulting (and infuriating) to his past partners.

    • JJ says:

      And his kids. They also are not sufficient reason for him not to drink, by this twisted logic.

    • whatWHAT? says:

      yes, which is why I don’t think it’s from his camp.

      he may be an alcoholic/addict/cheater, but I don’t think he has ever denigrated Garner in this way. he seems to realize how much she propped him up and clearly they still get along as we’ve seen pics of them together. he may have blamed JLo for the tabloid drama of their coupling, but I don’t think he ever indicated that his drinking issues were due to her lack of support. nah, this write up sounds like the new “flavor of the month” wants his exes to know how much BETTER she is and that SHE is the one who will magically “make him better” and “cure” his addiction problems.

  41. LidiaJara says:

    Man, get out Ana. When I was younger I loved one of those “changes your whole life with the sunlight he shines on you” kinda guys. Who I would armchair diagnose as an untreated sociopath (I know that’s not an actual diagnosis).

    Jennifer warned us! It’s a coooold shadow when they turn that light away.

  42. jbyrdku says:

    Um…”he really hasn’t felt the want or need since they have gotten into a relationship.”. I don’t like that it makes it sound like there was something lacking in the other women who have been in his life. It’s not their lack that created his alcoholism in the first place. Ugh.

  43. tcbc says:

    The only person responsible for an alcoholic’s sobriety is the alcoholic. But what a sh*tty statement. Forget Jen, this statement is also implying that his children were not reason enough to stay sober, but Ana is. Imagine hearing your father say that. Imagine hearing his girlfriend say it! (Because the add-on acting compliment sounds like this is coming from her team, not his.)

    I dislike her so much now. I hope when he’s stumbling around drunk in a few months, draped over a basic playboy bunny, that she realizes how big a fool she was to waste her big break on a pathetic user who dyes his beard. Let’s be real, one of the only reasons this has lasted as long as it has (which is not that long!) is because of COVID restrictions. If it were easier for him to get lapdances right now, she would be out of the picture.

    • tcbc says:

      I wanted to add that no matter how humiliating the blow up of this relationship will be for her, I won’t be sympathetic. Nothing justifies this kind of catty cruelty to your boyfriend’s children and the mother of his children, whose biggest offense against you was existing in his life before you did. She’s as big a narcissist as he is.

      And I think she sicced her attorneys on that “updates” fan account. The statement that poor kid put out sounded robotic.

    • whatWHAT? says:

      YES to both of your comments.

    • tina says:

      I lost any respect for Thirsty and Thirstier after sources said that Ben ensures “Ana comes first”. Kind of says it all right there. They are both self-absorbed actors who have an over-inflated opinion of themselves. (read some of her interviews) Ben throws shade at his exes every chance he gets. Says more about him than it does anyone else. The photo op of them dropping off the kids last week was an indication that they had big plans to celebrate his birthday solo. In some ways, they are made for each other.

  44. Aw says:

    That long dress…can someone source that? I’m kind of loving/hating it!

  45. Aw says:

    Never mind. I found it farm rio.

  46. Christi670 says:

    Ben Affleck has a pattern, and it should be considered that the partners in his wake seem to be well meaning women that unfortunately appear to find their definition of self in their relationships. We cannot assume Ana is any different.

    Please leave space for the possibility that Ana is a ‘fixer’ personality type caught in the wake of a charismatic man who has made her believe she can keep him grounded. Let’s remember that people participate in patterns, reenactments, and likely Ana is recreating a dynamic within her family and Ben is reenacting his desperate search for someone else to make him feel worthy.

    Addiction is a symptom of larger issues. I am not a fan of Ben [and personally can’t tolerate him in most movies], but I do understand how Ana might be able to make sense of this in her head. Yes, you may have guessed, I am a therapist. Either way, I just hate to see a woman vilified for something half of us have done.

  47. JanaTHING says:

    I think Ben is one of those men who need constant attention and positive reinforcement; and Jen was busy trying to be a wife and mom to his kids…unless this young girl wants to remain childless and busts her ass entertaining him, this won’t last.

  48. Jenn says:

    I have a lot of sympathy for Ben. While I agree that no one can really help you with sobriety, I sought help for my drinking because I very much love my husband. Wanting to do right by my husband was a much stronger motivator, at first, than wanting to do right by myself. That’s just how it was for me. (Later, I began to care more about myself.)

    Everyone deserves love and support, and to live a life free of shame. I just hope that Ben recognizes that he should look outside of his girlfriend to help these changes stick. To all of my friends who are struggling with alcoholism, I can’t say enough positive things about the combination of Contrave and DBT. Addiction can be genetic as well as emotional, so I believe a two-pronged attack is best. There are resources; nothing is hopeless.