Ben Affleck Says He Felt “Trapped” in Marriage to Jennifer Garner

Ben Affleck is more candid than ever in his latest appearance on The Howard Stern Show.

According to Page Six, the Tender Bar actor spoke to Howard Stern about his divorce from Jennifer Garner and the impact it had on their three children, Violet, Serafina, and Samuel, saying, “Part of why I started drinking was because I was trapped.”

Ben said that his and Jennifer’s 2017 divorce was a long time coming, but they stayed together as long as they did for the sake of their children.

“I was like, ‘I can’t leave because of my kids, but I’m not happy, what do I do?’ And what I did was [I] drank a bottle of scotch and fell asleep on the couch, which turned out not to be the solution,” he explained, adding that they eventually realized they didn’t want their relationship to “be the model that our kids see of marriage.”

And while Ben and Jennifer were no longer in love, he said it wasn’t the dramatic breakup that was portrayed in the media. As he put it, “We had a marriage that didn’t work. This happens. She’s somebody I love and respect, but to whom I shouldn’t be married any longer.”