Ben Affleck doesn’t have to talk about Ben Affleck. The actor and director has enjoyed a career that includes two Oscars and millions made at the box office. Though his private battle with alcoholism has become public in recent years after videos of the actor visibly intoxicated popped up online thanks to the invasive nature of paparazzi, Affleck could have decided to keep quiet about his struggle. Instead, he’s using his platform to help
destigmatize addiction, acting as a reminder that the disease can affect anyone, even successful A-listers.Affleck’s latest effort to use his story to help others may be his most emotional yet. The
Good Will Hunting star sat down with Diane Sawyer for an exclusive interview for
Good Morning America and opened up about his painful divorce and the demons of addiction that have plagued his family.[video_embed id='1903952']RELATED: Ben Affleck calls divorce from Jennifer Garner ‘biggest regret' of his life[/video_embed]Tracing the history of his own alcoholism, Affleck says that after getting sober in 2001, he was able to drink casually for eight years before things began to spiral. It began with Affleck increasing his drinking to a daily occurrence and eventually reached a boiling point when he began passing out on the couch at the end of the day. As tensions began to arise in his relationship with wife Jennifer Garner, Affleck was forced to face the devastating reality that his
marriage was over."I never thought that I was gonna get divorced. I didn't want to get divorced. I didn't want to be a divorced person. I really didn't want to be a split family with my children," said Affleck, becoming visibly upset. "And it upset me because it meant I wasn't who I thought I was. And that was so painful and so disappointing in myself."Affleck also opened up about his family history with addiction. His grandmother took her life in her mid-40s after struggling with alcohol and drugs, while his aunt and father battled addiction as well. "For me seeing my dad was just, he was drunk every day and that was just life. And then as that got worse, that was really, really painful," said Affleck. "And I always said, 'That'll never be me. I'm never gonna do that.' I wish he had been sober during those formative years, but what he's taught me is how important it is for me to be sober now during these formative years for my kids," Affleck added.
Affleck sought treatment in 2016 and again in 2018. He celebrated a year of sobriety in 2019 but was caught by TMZ cameras
looking drunk after a party. Affleck says that he’s only watched parts of the video and fears that his children will go through the same pain he endured during his childhood. "[That] is one of the hard parts of being the child of an alcoholic," said Affleck. "Do you think, 'What if my dad gets drunk? What if he does something stupid? What if he ends up on TMZ and it's on my news feed and other kids see it?'”The actor said that his last relapse was a wakeup call and one that pushed him to step away from work. "I took the last half of the year off and I just got to be dad. Drive them to school, pick them up. Go to the swim meet, come home. That's where the parenting happens," he said. "It's in the cracks. It's in the moments when you're just taking them back from soccer and they say something profound or they talk about how they're really feeling about something and it's like that's where you get to be the parent. That's the joy of it. And that's what I don't want to miss."Affleck returned to the big screen with this year’s drama
The Way Back, where he plays the coach of a high school basketball team who is an alcoholic. Affleck said his favourite scene in the movie is when his character loses his job and shows how desperate he is to not face the consequences of his actions, something he understands well. Talking about the devastation he’s felt by causing his children pain, Affleck says that he no longer has any room for error. "I'm doing my very, very best. It has to be good enough. I don't really have a choice," said Affleck. "I have to be the man I want to be at this point. I don't have anymore room for failure of that kind."Sawyer’s interview with Affleck will continue on Friday’s episode of
Good Morning America.[video_embed id='1704629']RELATED: How to spot and help treat addiction[/video_embed]
