Jennifer Garner was “well aware of what was going on” regarding her estranged husband Ben Affleck’s battle with alcoholism, a source tells Us Weekly exclusively.
“Ben told her he was done with Lindsay and she knew he was drinking again,” the source explains, referring to the 46-year-old actor’s recent split from Lindsay Shookus, his girlfriend of more than a year. “Ben is not good at being alone. She knew he was in a bad place recently and that she was going to have to intervene.”
Us Weekly confirmed on Wednesday, August 22, that Affleck had agreed to return to rehab following an intervention with Garner, 46, and a sober coach. The source tells Us that the Alias alum asked the Batman star “to go to meetings and pushed him to get help.”
“The last few weeks have been difficult,” the source explains. “Jen is the only one Ben listens to. She has been down this road with him for years and is the only one that can really get through.”
The sources says that Garner – with whom the actor shares Violet, 12, and Seraphina, 9, and son Samuel, 6 — asked him to “get regular treatment and a structured plan for help with meetings and a sober coach.” The Oscar winner, who was spotted leaving an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting earlier this month, “agreed and was not resistant,” per the source.
“He asked Jen for help and wants to get better. Jen fears that certain people in his life will lie for him and enable him. She’s really the only one that is devoted to helping him stay sober,” the source tells Us of the two, who split in 2015 after 10 years of marriage. “Ben wants to get help and knows he needs it. He’s going to be at a live-in facility with a new program and a different approach. He loves his kids and wants to be there for them. He knows he needs to stay sober and healthy for that to happen.”
If you or someone you know is struggling with substance abuse, contact the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).
