Is this the end for Ben’s ‘rehab romance’?
Last year wasn’t a great one for Ben Affleck ( life hack: maybe don’t publicly condemn Weinstein, only for it to emerge that you once groped an MTV host live on air). Now it seems that 2018 could be similarly difficult, with sources close to the actor claiming that his relationship with Saturday Night Live producer Lindsay Shookus is faltering.
According to one, ‘ They had a huge row last month and now it seems unlikely that they’ll go the distance. Things came to a head over Lindsay’s sister’s wedding – Ben had promised to go with her but then, at the last minute, he bailed and she ended up having to go alone. They’ve had fun together, but it doesn’t seem like Ben is ready for a big commitment, especially when you take into account the Jen factor. He’s practically still living at her place when he’s in LA, and doesn’t seem to have fully accepted that the marriage is over for good. Some of Ben’s friends have labelled his relationship with Lindsay a “rehab romance”. They think it’s doomed to fail.’
Ben separated from Jennifer Garner in 2015 before finally filing for divorce last April, but they continue to frequently appear in public together, and celebrated Christmas as a family with their children, Violet, 12, Seraphina, eight, and Samuel, five. Meanwhile, Ben and Lindsay went public last July, but are rumoured to have been involved for longer (Ben is a five-time host of SNL, last appearing in May 2013).
He has been vocal about his struggles with alcohol abuse, first checking into rehab in 2001 and revealing in March that he was back in treatment. The source added, ‘Ben is very open about the fact that he feels like he has work to do on himself, and some friends feel he rushed into things with Lindsay, especially when his split from Jen has been so off and on.’