TALK ABOUT A MAN WHO JUST LOOKS HAPPY.
Benjamin Géza Affleck-Boldt just looks like a happy man to me. With all of the trappings of Hollywood life surrounding him, it seems that since his union with the lovely Jennifer Garner, that his life is projected uncomplicated and charmed.
Ben has been in the thick of it all with respect to Hollywood life. Handsome and sexy with a following of enamored female fans across the globe, Affleck is a respected Academy Award winning screenwriter and producer, an actor, and critically acclaimed director. A beautiful actress wife. Three lovely children. A noted charitable humanitarian. Charmed indeed. But with that being said it wasn’t always this way for Ben. One must wonder if meeting his cosmic match has something to do with it. So many other celebrities struggle to obtain or maintain what Affleck appears to possess.
In 2001 Affleck checked himself into a rehab facility for alcohol addiction. He thought the rehab stint would remain secret but it was leaked to the press and so he felt obligated to make a comment. He noted that he believed a “fuller life” awaited him without alcohol. Certainly it did.
Over the years Affleck was involved in high profile unions with other famous actresses, most notably Gwyneth Paltrow and Jennifer Lopez, both of whom he remains good friends with. After his final split with Paltrow in 2000, Paltrow noted that Affleck was a great but complicated guy who “makes life tough for himself.” Ben undoubtedly did not take issue with Paltrow’s public assessment of his character, responding “… she’s probably right about that…. I think I probably do get in my own way.” Affleck noted that he respected Paltrow’s opinion on most (not all) things.
A few years later Affleck entered into a union with singer, actress, dancer, Jennifer Lopez. They met in 2001 on the set of the box-office bomb Gigli, and became engaged in 2002. They had planned a late 2003 wedding which never came to fruition. After intense media scrutiny of their union, they ended the union in January 2004. Affleck later noted that he’d made a number of mistakes in his life, but that his union with Lopez was not one of them.
Fast forward to mid 2004. Ben begins dating actress Jennifer Garner. They become engaged in April 2005 and wed in June 2005. It seems that since this point in Aflleck’s life the best of career life materialized, and in general his life stabilized. Industry tabloids have reported little to nothing with respect to the appearance of a solid union between Affleck and Garner.
Under intense media scrutiny, the Affleck family went on to have three children with no evidence of marital instability. No rehab. No third party hindrances. While Affleck is also an avid Poker enthusiast, it also appears that he possesses no addiction challenges. He asserts that he now has a family and does not play as much as he did prior. Poker organizer Molly Bloom noted that Afflect was a “smart” player. She asserted that Affleck “… liked to limit his downside, especially with a bunch of guys he wasn’t used to playing with…. He didn’t stay all night like a lot of the guys. He always had a specific time when he would stand up at the table. He would leave at a reasonable hour. He never lost a great deal. He usually won.”
Affleck and his girls Sera and Violet
The fact of the matter is that the best of Affleck’s life and career seemed to flourish after his marriage to Garner, from 2006 to the present. A politically active spirit, he’s been involved with the Democratic party (he was a visible supporter of the John Kerry campaign), and has devoted himself to several causes and charities including his work with civil rights abuses in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Career wise Affleck’s critical acclaim began with his 2006 portrayal of actor George Reeves in the film Hollywoodland, and in 2007 Affleck embarked on the most critically acclaimed endeavor of his career when he wrote the screenplay and directed his brother Casey Affleck as the lead in his film Gone Baby Gone. The film opened to rave reviews and Affleck was instantly catapulted into the annals of Hollywood directorial super stardom.
From there Affleck directed and co-wrote another critically acclaimed 2010 film The Town, and starred in the 2010 critically acclaimed filmThe Company Men. Could things actually get better for Affleck? Well it did in 2012 with the sleeper success of his third directorial film Argo which garnered Ben an Academy Award for Best Picture, and two Golden Globe awards for Best Director and Best Picture.
Now in 2014 Affleck remains grounded at the top of his game with the phenomenal success of his film Gone Girl, touted by some industry professionals as thee best, Oscar-bound film of 2014.
All the while Ben Affleck has managed to keep his seven year union with Jennifer Garner thriving and in tact. A challenge not easily surmountable in the entertainment industry.
More recently celebrity photographers have made note that Garner may indeed be pregnant again as she is displaying a rather evident “baby-bump” on her still very trim, post-baby body. But Garner recently put the pregnancy rumors to rest and revealed that she is not pregnant but is indeed harboring a perhaps perpetual baby bump. “I am not pregnant,“ Garner revealed to Ellen DeGeneres on her talk show, “…but I have had three kids and there is a bump,” she said. “From now on ladies, I will have a bump. And it will be my baby bump. And let’s just all settle in and get used to it. It’s not going anywhere. I have a bump. Its name is Violet, Sam, Sera.”
Now let’s be clear. Three children or not, Jennifer Garner is a woman of means who can pay a trainer to work that baby bump away (if she wants to put in the grueling work) or pay to have that bump surgically reduced. She is an actress and any given future role may warrant it. That being said, this is Garner’s story for now and perhaps forever, and what average woman can argue this? It’s evident that Garner considers herself a wife and mother first and foremost, and fodder for celebrity fotogs last. Is Ben happy with the baby bump? Who knows?
What’s evident is that Garner is enjoying her life as mother, and that Ben is more grounded and successful than he has ever been in his career, and he’s not complaining about his personal / family life nor seemingly seeking to flee his marital union. One must wonder if Garner’s existence in his life is the cosmic force behind it all. What may be safe to presume is that Affleck is supportive of the woman who is his wife and the mother of his three children. Whatever works for her works for him, and if not working to reduce her baby bump isn’t Garner’s priority right now then so be it…. it isn’t his priority either.
When Affleck went into rehab he spoke about a fuller life. The definition of a full life may differ from person to person. For some it may mean an extraordinary film career. Yet it’s doubtful that a “fuller life” for Ben meant a successful career sans personal and spiritual gratification. Quite the contrary, it probably meant that he aspired to a meaningful life beyond a career in the film industry. I’m willing to bet that this was indeed what he meant by a “fuller life.” It’s widely believed that when we have met our cosmic match that all other aspects and challenges within our lives fall into a more manageable order. Perhaps this is what we see in Ben Affleck’s life. It appears that he is getting it all via his union with Jennifer Garner and their children…. baby bump and all. Perhaps this is one of Hollywood’s more spiritual and healthier marital unions. Let’s hope so.
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“When all is said and done… you’ll go to the movies”