14 DAY TRIAL // Earlier this year, just one day after their 10th wedding anniversary, Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner went public with their decision to separate. They had been plagued by divorce rumors for some time, so that didn’t feel like much of a shock.
What did though was the subsequent discovery that Affleck had cheated on Garner with their children’s nanny, Christine Ouzounian, who was more than willing to sell her story to the press. Matt Damon believes the marriage was over before the cheating, according to the latest in OK! Magazine.
Garner didn’t exactly help things
Because he has a new movie out, the Ridley Scott-directed “The Martian,” which has been met with much enthusiasm from critics and a solid box office turnout, Matt had to discuss Ben’s marriage on a few occasions, when the question came up in his promotional interviews.
He never went into much detail, but he made it clear that he had his best friend’s back, while expressing confidence that he would get out of this situation ok. As per the aforementioned report, that’s because he believes Jennifer was responsible for the way the marriage ended.
For the record, we should note that this narrative of Damon vs. Garner has been a fixture in the tabloids for a very long time, appearing years before the divorce.
Apparently, Damon is convinced the marriage would have been over even without the cheating.
“Matt believes Ben’s marriage was in shambles way before the nanny; there was too much anger there. If she had just loosened up a bit, things would have been different,” an unnamed insider says.
The affair with Ouzounian was Affleck’s way of coping with what was happening at home, and it also turned into the final straw for the marriage.
Keeping up appearances
Despite all the reported drama happening behind closed doors with Ben and Jennifer, they’re still making a lot of efforts to put up a united front for the paparazzi and keep up the appearance of a happy family.
Since the separation announcement, the two have been photographed out together regularly, both with and without their 3 children, attending events and doing all kinds of family activities.
Neither have they filed the divorce papers, which, in turn, has encouraged rumors of a possible reconciliation. Just last week, reports were saying that Jennifer was pregnant with Ben’s 4th child, after a one-night stand they had after they broke up. The same reports claimed that she was reconsidering the split and was willing to give the marriage another try.