Ben Affleck Reveals Toxic Coping Mechanism for Failed Relationships in Interview That Was Rehashed in Context of Divorce

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: As Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez’s divorce proceedings continue, an old interview with the “Gone Girl” actor has resurfaced, in which he opens up about his unhealthy way of coping with his relationship.

More than two weeks after Lopez filed for divorce from her husband of two years, internet sleuths have uncovered an old Playboy interview with Ben Affleck.

In an interview published in the December 1999 issue of Playboy, Affleck spoke about the “passive-aggressive rage” he often felt in relationships and which led to the breakup of his romance.

Ben Affleck spoke about his questionable coping tendencies in a 1999 interview.

In a clip from a 1999 Playboy interview that recently went viral on Reddit, one journalist asked Affleck, 52, if his “other ex-girlfriends are generally pissed off” at him.

Affleck, who at the time publicly admitted to having been in two relationships, replied honestly: “Mostly,” according to the Daily Mail.

When asked to elaborate, Affleck admitted, “Probably rightfully so. If I was the next guy who dated them, I’m sure I’d nod in agreement, saying what an asshole their ex-boyfriend is.”

He explained: “I wasn’t a womaniser or physically or mentally abusive or anything like that,” before adding: “Those types of relationships just never end well.”

“I think it ends with me wanting to end this relationship,” Affleck continued, before shedding light on his proclivities.

“If you feel dissatisfied and unhappy during a relationship and you don’t say anything, if you don’t deal with it right away, the situation will get worse and last,” the “Gigli” actor admitted.

Admitting to his role in the breakup, he said: “So instead of saying, ‘Look, don’t do this, please don’t act this way,’ I do it to the point where I just don’t want to be in this relationship.”

“Then I create some incident or do something or just don’t call. And then she’s f**ked up,” Affleck explained.

He admitted that since he knew his faults, he did not blame his former partners for the breakups.

“And I can’t necessarily blame her at that point, because I’ve developed such passive-aggressiveness that I have no sympathy for her and I say to her, ‘Of course I didn’t call you. If you weren’t such a whiny, snarky harpy, I would have called you,'” Affleck said.

Still, Affleck said at the time that he was working on his flaws to become a better partner, adding, “But hopefully it’s something I grow out of.”

At the time of the interview, the “Good Will Hunting” actor was in a relationship with Gwyneth Paltrow, the 51-year-old star of “Shakespeare in Love.” They dated from 1997 to 2000, when they appeared together in another film, “Bounce.”

Before the “Argo” actor started dating his “Iron Man” actress, he dated 52-year-old film director Cheyenne Rothman. The high school couple dated from 1990 to 1997 before splitting.

Although the actor claimed that his behavior was improving, his fans online were not convinced and took to Reddit to criticize the actor for allegedly behaving similarly towards his other partners.

Shortly after the interview was published, Affleck began a relationship with Jennifer Lopez, but postponed their wedding and they separated in 2004.

In 2005, he married Jennifer Garner and had three children: Violet, Fin and Samuel.

After the couple divorced in 2018, Affleck reconnected with Lopez and tied the knot in 2022. After months of speculation about the couple’s feud, the “Jenny From The Block” singer put an end to the rumors by filing for divorce on the second anniversary of their courthouse wedding.

Ben Affleck Leaves Fans Unsure About His Divorce With Renewed Interview

Reddit users said they weren’t surprised when his candid 1999 interview surfaced, but they didn’t hesitate to criticize Affleck as fans pointed out that self-awareness without fixing the problem still doesn’t matter.

One Reddit user commented, “Well said! If he talks about his problems but doesn’t do anything to fix them, then he’s just a guy who likes to talk about himself.”

“Dismissive avoidant? Either way sucks, but it must be tragic to go through 20 years of making the same mistakes over and over again,” another said.

Another fan noted, not without irony: “Dude, he has kids that were born and became adults since this interview was done, and he’s still doing it.”

“I remember reading that Ben’s father (who is himself a former alcoholic) moved to California right after his divorce from Ben’s mother and she basically had to raise the kids on her own as a single mom with no support. I can’t help but think that’s why Ben is the way he is. It’s a shame he can’t break the cycle. Although to his credit, he seems like a present and active father to his kids,” another fan commented.

Another, criticizing him, said: “Sorry, 1999 Ben. Looks like you haven’t grown out of it.”

Someone else nodded in agreement, saying, “Yepppp. And both Garner and Lopez seem to have a tendency to ‘fix’ in their relationships. The hurt man with a traumatic childhood/’I can fix him with my love’ woman dynamic is pretty damn universal, unfortunately.”

“That’s what a lot of people have said… he’s great at the chase and the lovey-dovey beginnings of a relationship, but he gets bored once that ends and the real relationship starts that requires effort, that’s when he leaves,” another disgruntled fan noted.

Someone else thought of Jennifer Garner, saying, “Well, he’s consistent. I wonder what it must have been like for Garner to go through that with the kids. And to think he carved “I’m not going anywhere” on JLo’s ring. I hope the next one knows what she’s getting into.”

“Man, one of Jlo’s buddies should have reminded her about this interview before she walked down the aisle. Oh shit,” another fan exclaimed.

Another noted, speaking of Lopez, “Her engagement ring had “Not.Going.Anywhere.” engraved on it, which she says he’s signed all his emails with since they started talking. I’m just guessing, but it sounds like she must be worried about that since he had to do all that.”

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