In the year since he completed a stay at a facility to treat his alcohol addiction,Ben Affleckhas remained outspoken about his addition struggles.
The 47-year-old actor celebrated one year of sobriety in August 2019, a year after checking into a treatment center. One of his most heartfelt statements came after he completed the 40-day stay at the treatment center, where ex-wifeJennifer Garnerhelped him check in.
“The support I have received from my family, colleagues and fans means more to me than I can say. It’s given me the strength and support to speak about my illness with others,”Affleck said in October 2018. “Battling any addiction is a lifelong and difficult struggle. Because of that, one is never really in or out of treatment. It is full-time commitment. I am fighting for myself and my family.”
He continued, “So many of people have reached out on social media and spoken about their own journeys with addiction. To those people, I want to say thank you. Your strength is inspiring and is supporting me in ways I didn’t think was possible. It helps to know I am not alone.”
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In a candid interview this March, Affleck toldTodayco-hostHoda Kotbthat it “doesn’t really bother” him to talk about his journey to live a sober life.
“Being an alcoholic, it’s part of my life, it’s something that I deal with,” said the actor. “It doesn’t have to subsume my whole identity and be everything but it is something that you have to work at.”
“I had a problem and I really want to address it and I take some pride in that,” he added. “It’s about yourself, your life, your family…we encounter these kinds of hurdlesand we have to deal with them.”
Over a year after he completed his stay, Affleck was rumored to be on the celebrity dating app Raya. The actor decided to address the rumors on Instagram, where he shed light on an organization helping addicts recover.
“But let’s be serious for a moment and talk about something that is actually important. I havebeen in recovery for over a yearand part of that is helping out others.@themidnightmissionis an incredible organization that helps those in need with housing, training, development and recovery,” he said in his post.
Ben Affleck.Axelle/FilmMagic
Hours later, Affleck attended the UNICEF party where he appeared inebriated.
“Sobriety is difficult and elusive for everyone struggling with addiction,” a friend of Affleck’s told PEOPLE after the public incident. “Ben has acknowledged he’s going to slip up from time to time. It was never as if this was simply behind him.”
“He is very open about how challenging it is for him and works on his sobriety daily,” a source previouslytold PEOPLE. “Ben thinks of alcoholism as a disease—you shouldn’t be ashamed of a disease.”
Affleck is “very serious about his sobriety. It’s definitely not easy for Ben,” the insider added.
source: people.com
