Ben Affleck knows everyone has an opinion of him. But the only opinion that matters to Ben, is what his children think of him.
“The only biography that needs anything is written on the hearts of your kids,” Affleck told Good Morning America of 16-year-old Violet, 12-year-old Seraphina and 9-year-old Samuel, whom he co-parents with ex-wife, Jennifer Garner.
He continued, “I will be long dead and someone will ask my kids what was your dad like and that is when I will know what my life was worth.”
Affleck, 49, has been open about his personal struggles, including alcoholism. This past week, he caused an uproar for saying on the Howard Stern Show that his marriage to Garner, 49, was “part of why I started drinking … because I was trapped.”
He went on to explain: “I was like ‘I can’t leave ’cause of my kids, but I’m not happy, what do I do?’ What I did was drink a bottle of scotch and fall asleep on the couch, which turned out not to be the solution.”
Affleck has since walked back his comments multiple times, saying on Jimmy Kimmel Live! Wednesday night, “I would never want my kids to think I would ever say a bad word about their mom.”
RELATED: Jennifer Lopez And Ben Affleck Are Officially Together According To Instagram
Affleck explained to Kimmel how in his conversation with Stern, he failed to articulate “how much we respect each other and cared about each other and cared about our kids and put them first.” And instead, he came off as “the worst, most insensitive, stupid awful guy.”
“I feel like at the end of the day everybody needs second chances. I don’t know anybody who does everything right. We all fail. That’s the truth,” he said, adding, “There aren’t enough movies, there isn’t enough success, not enough likes on Instagram. Those things will never fill you up or make you happy.”
“My life is better and I am happier the more I am around my kids.”
He continued on, saying: “We all want to pass on the best of ourselves to our children. I don’t care who you are, I’m quite sure you feel at some point in your life you’ve taken missteps, nobody wants to transfer that to our children and that is a real task that everybody faces, whatever those issues are.”
Mamas Uncut is THE online place for moms. We cover the latest about motherhood, parenting, and entertainment as well – all with a mom-focused twist. So if you're looking for parenting advice from real parents, we have plenty of it, all for moms from moms, and also experts. Because, at the end of the day, our mission is focused solely on empowering moms and moms-to-be with the knowledge and answers they’re looking for in one safe space.