(CNN) Ben Affleck is clarifying some things.
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter published Thursday, he addressed the controversy that followed comments he made in 2021 while speaking to Howard Stern about his past marriage to actress Jennifer Garner.
“I had a really painful experience where I did an interview where I was really vulnerable, and the whole pickup was not only something wrong, it was actually the opposite of what I wanted say.” Affleck told THR.
The actor and director faced backlash after saying he felt “trapped” in the dynamic with Garner.
“That’s part of why I started drinking,” Affleck told Stern. “Because I was trapped.”
Affleck told THR he wasn’t trying to blame Garner for his drinking.
“To be clear, my behavior is entirely my responsibility,” he said.
“The point I was trying to make was sad. Anyone who’s been through a divorce makes this math of, How much are we trying? We loved each other. We care about each other. We respect each other,” Affleck says in the news. interview. “I was trying to say, ‘Hey look, I was drinking too much, and the less happy you become, whether it’s your job, your marriage, it’s just that as your life gets harder, if you make things to fill in a hole that’s not healthy, you’re going to start doing more of those things.'”
The couple ended up separating in 2015.
Affleck said he felt his quotes were “misinterpreted in order to make it clickbait” and “no matter how many times I said, ‘I don’t feel that way. I’m telling you, I don’t blame my ex-wife for my alcoholism.'”
Affleck and Jennifer Lopez reunited nearly 20 years after their first engagement and wedding in July 2022.
“[Jennifer Lopez] told me today: ‘Relax, be yourself. Have fun. You’re actually a fun guy who’s real and genuine and you seem so serious,” Affleck told THR. “Do I look serious? But as in many things, she is really right. And she loves me. She watches over me. She’s trying to help me.”
He also sought to dispel speculation that sparked the ‘Ben Affleck having a bad time at the Grammys’ meme after the pair appeared to have visibly different reactions at the event.
Affleck said he was having a great time, but when he saw Grammy host Trevor Noah approaching them, he thought, “Oh, my God.”
“They were framing us in this plan, but I didn’t know they were rolling. I leaned over her and thought, ‘As soon as they start rolling, I’m going to step away from you and let you sit next to you. Trevor,” Affleck explained. “She’s like, ‘You better not go.’ It’s a husband and wife story. I mean, in part, I’m like, ‘Okay, who is this act?’ Like, I’m not continuing. My wife does, of course. And yes, this is your wife’s work event. ”