Ben Affleck reportedly admitted to cheating in the last year, prompting wife Jennifer Garner to throw him out and ultimately leading to the couple’s divorce.
Affleck and Garner announced their split last week, saying they had come to the mutual decision to end their marriage. The announcement, which came one day after their 10-year anniversary, said the couple was focused on their kids and making the process as easy as possible.
But behind the scenes, sources said the situation was far from amicable. Affleck reportedly cheated with an unidentified woman, and Jen’s trust was broken.
The couple didn’t split right away after Affleck’s cheating was revealed, a source told Us Weekly .
“She always fought against the urge to throw her hands up in the air and walk away,” says an insider. “They’ve been on the brink of splitting up many times before, but it’s Jennifer’s worst nightmare for their children. Her biggest desire has always been to keep the family together.”
While other sources close to Ben dispute reports that he was cheating, others noted that both he and Jen tried to salvage the marriage.
A source told the People magazine, “He’s devastated. Nobody intends to go down this path. They both battled, and he really battled to try and save the marriage but ultimately it was the best thing for the kids and for him and Jen.”
But the source added that the marriage has been broken for a long time.
“They’ve been separated for 10 months but he was living at the house. These are things that they have consciously done because they want to make sure that this is as easy as they can make it on the kids.”
“These are two people who really tried to save their marriage and worked really hard at it. Ultimately they had grown apart and they did what was best for their kids.”
Affleck has been taking the split hard, sources added. He was spotted in Los Angeles over the weekend without his wedding ring, though Jen is still wearing her’s.
“This is just as hard on him and difficult for him. Any divorce is tough on everyone. He is leaning on his mom and close friends.”
Ben Affleck has not responded to the cheating rumors, but the couple appears to be focused on the future. They are reportedly trying to make the split as quick and easy as possible to save problems for their three children.
[Photo by Jason Merritt / Getty Images]
