Marriage saved Ben’s career — now what?
Potential Affleck-Garner split could affect his 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?
“How many days until Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck get divorced?” Defamer recently asked.
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-and-down career by what’s going on in his personal life. Affleck rocketed to stardom at age 24, thanks in part to his lifelong best-friendship with Matt Damon, with whom he wrote and co-starred in Good Will Hunting. Together, they won the 1997 best screenplay Oscar. With his role in Shakespeare in Love lending him a bit of class, Affleck then made the jump to the blockbuster leading man with Armageddon.
Then things took a dive. Around the time of 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 pop star-actress Jennifer Lopez and the pair became a sideshow spectacle: “Bennifer.”
After Lopez and Affleck postponed their wedding because of “excessive media attention,” his career started to tailspin as well. They co-starred in Gigli in 2003, widely considered one of the worst films of all time, while superhero vehicle Daredevil flopped.
Bennifer broke up soon after and Affleck stepped out of the spotlight.
“All this s--- just kind of blew up,” Affleck later told Details magazine, calling 2003 the worst year of his life. He became a punchline.
The one upside? Affleck became acquainted with co-star Garner during Daredevil, and a year after the movie’s release, they started dating. The pair eloped in 2005 and soon after had a baby girl, Violet.
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 took his talents behind the camera with The Town, directing the crime drama set in Boston.
Even as the Internet continued to buzz with rumours about indiscretions, Affleck’s newly refined image powered him through.
Affleck’s career resurgence matched his family bliss as he directed Argo, which took over the 2013 award season, winning the best picture Oscar. His Oscar speech raised some eyebrows with a comment directed at Garner — “I want to thank you for working on our marriage for 10 Christmases … it is work, but it’s the best kind of work, and there’s no one I’d rather work with.” But he was mostly applauded for acknowledging that marriage isn’t easy.
Now, though, everyone’s sifting over Affleck’s Oscar-night words again. Though he scored big with Gone Girl last year, the negative stories have started to ramp up. In the past few months, the tabloids and gossip blogs have been keeping close tabs on where they are on each other’s birthdays (apart) and if they’re wearing wedding rings.
Affleck and Garner appear to have made an effort to be seen in public together, of course with their kids. But it’s worth noting that up next for Affleck is the already controversial Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, and superfans are not pleased that Affleck is taking on the Batman role.
“How many days until Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck get divorced?” — Defamer gossip site