Violet is unimpressed! Ben Affleck shared a cute anecdote about his estranged wife, Jennifer Garner, and their eldest daughter while accepting a humanitarian award at the Starkey Hearing Foundation Gala in St. Paul, Minnesota, on Sunday, July 16.
During his speech, the two-time Oscar winner, 44, noted that he was in good company, telling the audience that Garner, 45, was honored for her philanthropic efforts at last year’s gala.
“When I told my oldest daughter that I was getting this award, she said, ‘Yeah, Dad. Mom already has that one,'” Affleck said, referring to Violet, 11. He and Garner also share daughter Seraphina, 8, and son Samuel, 5.
The Argo director got choked up at the beginning of his speech after a touching introduction from his business partner Whitney Williams, who was also visibly emotional at the annual event, which raises millions of dollars to provide hearing aids to people in need around the world. Affleck was honored for his longtime humanitarian work with the nonprofit organization Eastern Congo Initiative, which he established with Williams in 2010.
Affleck traveled to Congo, Africa, in June for his 10th trip. “Every time I visit, I leave even more inspired there will be a brighter and more peaceful future for the Congolese,” he wrote on Instagram at the time. “The challenges are real, and the road is long, but the Congolese are the hardest working and most hopeful people I know. We often speak of heroes — I count these among the many. It’s the honor of a lifetime to support Congo. My heart will forever be there with them.”
The Gone Girl actor’s outing at the Starkey gala came on the heels of the headline-making news of his romance with Saturday Night Live producer Lindsay Shookus. Multiple sources previously claimed to Us Weekly that the relationship began while Affleck and Garner, who split in June 2015, were still married. “They were not casually dating — they were having a full-blown affair,” a source close to the former couple alleged to Us. However, a second insider exclusively told Us that Garner “is OK” with the news.
Since taking their romance public, Affleck and Shookus have been spotted out together in London, Los Angeles and New York.
