Ben Affleck Oscar Appearance Comes After Jennifer Garner Divorce Report

Ben Affleck attended the Oscar’s on Sunday night as a single guy. Although he was in the company of his brother, Casey Affleck, and his pal Matt Damon, Ben was stag at the event.

The Argo actor was on-hand to hand out a gold statue with his BFF Matt Damon (who was the butt of many-a-Jimmy-Kimmel-joke throughout the evening). The Boston boys presented Kenneth Lonergan with the award for Best Original Screenplay for Manchester By The Sea.

Affleck was all smiles as he chatted with his famous friends, but just about everyone was keeping an eye on him because a report from February 17 claimed that Jennifer Garner was going to file for divorce.

According to Us Weekly, the end has come for Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner. The couple — who have attended plenty of award shows together over the years — may have been trying to work things out or perhaps were just waiting for the dust to settle before making the official decision to end their marriage.

The divorce filing will come two years after the former power couple announced their separation. Since that time, however, Ben and Jen have been living under one roof and spending a lot of time together with their three children, Violet, 11, Seraphina, 8, and Samuel, 4, likely trying to keep things as normal as possible for the sake of the kids.

“No matter what happens, Ben and Jen are committed to raising their family as one unit and will continue to do so as it has worked for them. They are both committed to their family,” a source told Us Weekly of Jen’s decision to file papers. Another source added that Ben Affleck has actually moved out of the family home in recent months.

Before Ben Affleck attended the Oscar’s, Jennifer Garner did an interview with Vanity Fair where she opened up about the couple’s decision to separate.

“Let me just tell you something. We had been separated for months before I ever heard about the nanny. She had nothing to do with our decision to divorce. She was not a part of the equation. Bad judgment? Yes. It’s not great for your kids for [a nanny] to disappear from their lives,” Garner said.

Later in the interview, Garner referred to Affleck as “the love of [her] life.” She was very candid when speaking about her soon-to-be ex-husband and seemed to hint that he had been suffering from some kind of depression.

“I didn’t marry the big fat movie star; I married him. And I would go back and remake that decision. I ran down the beach to him, and I would again. He’s just a complicated guy. I always say, ‘When his sun shines on you, you feel it.’ But when the sun is shining elsewhere, it’s cold. He can cast quite a shadow,” Garner said.

Ben Affleck’s Oscar appearance wasn’t much of a surprise despite what’s going on in his personal life. He obviously wanted to support his younger brother, Casey Affleck, who took home the award for Best Actor for his role in Manchester By The Sea. After Casey won the award, he and his brother shared a hug, Ben jumping up from his seat to congratulate his sibling. It was actually quite an emotional moment for both brothers.

[Featured Image by Kevin Winter/Getty Images]