Marriage gave star’s career a boost
Split from Jennifer Garner could hurt Ben Affleck’s public image
Ben Affleck’s professional life has long been inextricably intertwined with his love life. It was true in the early 2000s when his overexposed, roller-coaster romance with Jennifer Lopez dovetailed with a series of cinematic bombs — and it’s just as true in recent years, with his astonishing Hollywood comeback largely tied to his picture-perfect marriage to the effervescent Jennifer Garner.
So what happens now that the celebrity media is sharpening its knives over reports that the A-list couple — married nearly 10 years with three children — are on the verge of splitting? It’s been a daily drumbeat of ominous stories — the duo making a miserable-looking frozen yogurt run in Los Angeles, a moving truck appearing in their driveway (though People magazine insisted they’re just renovating).
“How many days until Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck get divorced?” Defamer recently asked, noting that under California law, different alimony laws apply to marriages that last beyond a decade, and their anniversary is next week. Us Weekly noted the occasion with a sombre Fighting for Their Marriage cover.
Granted, we have no idea what’s going on in their relationship. Lots of other VIP couples have emerged from divorce rumours perfectly intact. So we’ll focus on a question that still bears asking: What do these stories mean for Affleck and his public image?
You can mark the pivots of Affleck’s famously up-anddown career by what’s going on in his personal life. A charter member of the Kevin Smith indie clique in his early acting days, Affleck rocketed to stardom at 24, thanks in part to his lifelong best-friendship with Matt Damon. Together, they won the 1997 best screenplay Oscar. He hooked up with red-hot ingenue Gwyneth Paltrow as she was headlining a series of awards-buzz movies. With his role in her Shakespeare in Love lending him a bit of class, Affleck made the jump to the blockbuster leading man with Armageddon.
Then things took a dive. Amid misfires like Reindeer Games and Pearl Harbor, Affleck’s off-screen life overshadowed his work. He went to rehab in 2001.
The next year, he started dating Lopez. As with Paltrow a couple of years earlier, he hooked up with JLo at the top of her game. But she was already a tabloid magnet, thanks to a splashy affair with Diddy and a quickie marriage to Cris Judd — and her rapid rebound with Affleck (they were engaged within months of her divorce) became a sideshow spectacle: “Bennifer.” As Mindy Kaling put it, “Bennifer was so big it was as though two people had never been in love before, and they had discovered it.”
After Lopez and Affleck postponed their wedding because of “excessive media attention,” his career started to tailspin as well. They costarred in 2003 in Gigli, considered one of the worst films of all time, while superhero vehicle Daredevil flopped.
Bennifer broke up. Affleck stepped out of the spotlight.
“All this s--- just kind of blew up,” he later told Details magazine, calling 2003 the worst year of his life.
The one upside? Affleck became acquainted with costar Garner during Daredevil, and a year after the movie’s release, they started dating. She was a rising star from the critically acclaimed TV spy drama Alias, possessed with an It Girl likability. Dating a beloved star couldn’t have come at a better time for Affleck, still shaking off public mockery and bombs like Jersey Girl and Surviving Christmas. The pair eloped in 2005 and had a baby girl.
Just as Affleck was reshaping his reputation as a devoted family man, he started to climb his way back to respectability in the industry. He won acclaim for smaller supporting roles in smart films like Hollywoodland and State of Play. He took his talents behind the camera with crime drama The Town.
Even as the Internet continued to buzz with rumours about indiscretions, Affleck’s newly refined image powered him through. By now, he and Garner had two adorable daughters, and who wanted to knock the golden family? He and Garner cemented a “just like everyone else” image, letting their kids dress in age-appropriate mismatched clothes and play outside.
Affleck’s career resurgence matched his family bliss as he directed Argo, which took over the 2013 award season, winning the best picture Oscar and re-establishing him among the Hollywood elite.
Garner appeared in front of Congress to fight against paparazzi taking photos of children. Affleck was frequently recognized for his involvement in his Eastern Congo charity initiative. He was asked repeatedly when he’s running for office.
Now, the negative stories have started to ramp up. Last fall, he was kicked out of a Las Vegas casino for allegedly counting cards.
The tabloids and gossip blogs have been keeping tabs on where they are on each other’s birthdays (apart) and if they’re wearing wedding rings.
After some of the stories, Affleck and Garner appear to have made an effort to be seen in public together, with their kids, of course. But up next for Affleck is the already controversial Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, and superfans are not pleased Affleck is taking on the Batman role. If history teaches us anything, this could represent another valley for Affleck — especially if he doesn’t have the image of a perfect marriage to fall back on.