Ben Affleck worries about how public perception of him might affect his children: 'That's really tough'

Ben Affleck worries about how public perception of him might affect his children: 'That's really tough'

Ben Affleck admitted he didn’t really care about how he was portrayed in the media until his kids got older in a new interview.

Affleck, 49, spoke about his public perception in an interview with the Los Angeles Times.

“I got to a place where [the public perception] was so different from who I am that I just stopped reading and stopped caring,” he told the outlet. “But then, as my kids got older and started seeing the Internet themselves, that’s the difficult part.”

“Even the ‘Sad Affleck’ meme — that was funny to me. I mean, there’s nobody who hasn’t felt that way at a junket. But then my kids see it and I think, ‘Oh, are they going to think their dad is fundamentally sad or they have to worry about me?’ That’s really tough,” Affleck explained.

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Ben Affleck admitted he didn’t pay attention to the way he was portrayed in the media until his kids got older. (Photo by Bellocqimages/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images)

Affleck shares three children with ex-wife Jennifer Garner; Violet Anne, Seraphina Rose and son Samuel Garner.

Garner and Affleck got married in 2005 and divorced in 2018.

Affleck has been outspoken about his alcoholism. He has spent time in rehab and gone through waves of sobriety since the 1990s.

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Affleck has been open about his relationship, family and addiction struggles. (AP)

He wrote about his addiction battle on Instagram in 2018.

“Battling any addiction is a lifelong and difficult struggle. Because of that, one is never really in or out of treatment. It is a full-time commitment. I am fighting for myself and my family,” he wrote.

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Affleck has gone to rehab multiple times. (Reuters)

He went on to thank “family, colleagues and fans” for their support.

“So many people have reached out on social media and spoken about their own journeys with addiction. To those people, I want to say thank you.”