Ben Affleck’s next girlfriend must be sober or recovering: report

As Jennifer Lopez has often said about herself, Ben Affleck hasn’t given up on love either and is considering dating again.

But the 52-year-old actor, director and producer reportedly has one strict requirement for his next partner: she must be sober or in recovery.

Affleck, who is known for his struggles with alcohol addiction and his recent efforts to stay sober, has just had a “tough” few years with his high-flying romance with Lopez, 55, and the spectacular collapse of their relationship. two-year marriage, an insider told the Daily Mail. This turmoil has shown him how important it is to stay sober and healthy.

“Ben hasn’t given up on relationships yet and finally feels ready to move on and start dating again,” the source told the Daily Mail. “He won’t get into anything serious until the divorce is finalized, but that doesn’t mean he can’t date.”

But in the future, Affleck “only wants to date someone who is sober or in recovery,” the source said. “The last two years have been tough for Ben and as he begins to heal, one thing is very clear: his recovery comes first. He will not compromise his sobriety.”

After Affleck left the $68 million mansion he bought during their brief marriage to Lopez and returned to single life in his own rental home, friends feared he might relapse and start drinking again under the pressure of their very public breakup .

But Affleck reportedly remained sober and was upset by reports of friends’ fears. “Ben tries to avoid the news, but it upset him that people thought he was relapsing because he wasn’t,” the source said.

To some extent, Lopez met Affleck’s need for a down-to-earth partner. The singer, actor and entrepreneur has long claimed that she eschews alcohol for health and beauty purposes.

But in 2023, she was seen by fans like sending very mixed messages about her support of her husband’s sober lifestyle by tying her name to an alcohol brand, Delola, which sells ready-to-drink spritzes made with vodka, tequila or amaro.

Fans raised the alarm because Lopez was newly married to a “sober partner”; her fourth husband had been to rehab several times and openly discussed how his alcohol abuse damaged his first marriage to Jennifer Garner and severely damaged his career as an actor and director. On Lopez’s Instagram post announcing her new brand partnership with Delola, followers accused her of being disrespectful to Affleck and trying to raise money and “stay relevant.”

“J-Lo, you don’t drink,” someone said on her Instagram post announcing her new Delola partnership. “This is something that is known and has been pointed out several times. I mean…. I understand – a coin is a coin – but Mom, you don’t drink alcohol.”

It’s likely that Affleck’s commitment to sobriety means more than just not drinking. As recovery experts will say, sobriety also means a daily commitment to a new lifestyle, a focus on self-care, and sometimes painful self-examination to transform self-destructive behaviors and attitudes into positive, healthy ones.

“Like any alcoholic, Ben wakes up with one goal in mind. To stay sober that day,” the source said.

According to the Daily Mail, Affleck first attempted to quit drinking in 1997. “I just wanted to quit,” he told a reporter in 1998. He sought treatment for alcohol addiction in 2001 and entered rehab in 2017 and 2018, when his marriage to Garner fell apart. In 2018, Garner was photographed by paparazzi as she arrived at her estranged husband’s home and took him to rehab. Despite their split, Garner has remained friends with Affleck and has publicly helped him stay healthy so he can be an active co-parent as they raise their three children.

Affleck Lopez reportedly sold “because he was a changed man” when they started dating in the spring of 2021. They first dated from 2002 to 2004, when each was a rising young star in the entertainment world. They almost married, but called off their engagement and separated, blaming much of the blame on intense media scrutiny.

But intense media attention was inevitable when Affleck and Lopez started seeing each other again in 2021. At the time, “he was just getting sober,” a source previously told Page Six. “He was in a vulnerable state, and whatever their chemistry played into that… He was in a frenzied, irritable state.”

But the whirlwind of romance quickly subsided after they got married, a Page Six source reported. Affleck began to desire more privacy, and he could no longer tolerate Lopez’s level of celebrity, the source said. “He doesn’t want (the entourage) and all the drama that comes with it in his house,” the source said.

One report said that Affleck was the one who pushed for the divorce. A source told In Touch Weekly in June that a “sober, healthy” Affleck “is looking forward to the next chapter.” He wants a life of peace and quiet, and it will be a relief to escape this roller coaster.”

Affleck publicly disagreed with the extent to which his wife wanted to share aspects of their private lives with the public. He also said as much in “The Greatest Love Story Never Told,” the Amazon Prime documentary she released in February that chronicled their renewed romance.