DESPERATE FOR DIVORCE

Eager to move on with Lindsay Shookus, Ben Affleck begs Jennifer Garner to officially end their marriage.

Something was off. Strolling through Hollywood alone, Jennifer Garner looked uncharacteristically sad on July 3 — almost three years to the date since her high- profile split from Ben Affleck. While he’s now happily living with Saturday Night Live producer Lindsay Shookus and spending quality time with her parents and young daughter, “Jen isn’t as ready to move on,” says a source. “She won’t admit it but she’s still angry and blames Ben for the end of her marriage.” That’s why, more than

a year after she officially filed for divorce, the actress has yet to sign off on their split. And Ben’s getting awfully tired of waiting. The actor, 45, has been begging Jen, 46, to finalize their breakup, Life & Style has exclusively learned, so he can make things permanent with Lindsay. “He has made it clear to Jen that unless the divorce is finalized by September,” says the source, “he’d have no choice but to arrange a court date.”

HOLDING A GRUDGE?

That’s a harsh ultimatum — but for Ben, time is of the essence. He’s already bought a ring, the source says, and has asked Lindsay’s parents for her hand in marriage — and he can’t wait to have Lindsay (who’s finalizing her own divorce from ex Kevin Miller) start planning a wedding. Since the vow swap can’t happen until they’re both officially split, Ben has been imploring Jen to stop dragging her heels.

Jen’s been both surprised and disappointed at how insistent he’s been. “She understands that Ben has moved on, but she never expected him to want to remarry again so soon,” the source explains, adding that she’s found her ex’s behavior somewhat insensitive. “It’s been quite a shock.”

And it’s reopened old wounds. Before they filed for divorce, Jen put up with a lot of bad behavior from Ben — from alcohol addiction and cheating rumors to a gambling problem that took him away from her and their three children ( Violet, 12, Seraphina, 9, and Samuel, 6) for long stretches. Seeing him get so serious with the SNL producer, 38, makes Jen feel as though he never took their marriage as seriously as she did. “She’s been to thera- py and thought she made progress,” says the insider, “but deep down maybe she wants to keep Ben from moving on.”

With Ben’s ultimatum looming, though, Jen knows she may be left with no other choice than to sign the papers. But that doesn’t make it hurt any less. “It brings up a lot of raw emotions that she hasn’t really dealt with,” the insider says. “She’s still grappling with her feelings. This is extremely hard for Jen.”