In Touch: Ben Affleck wants rehab ‘on his terms,’ keeps putting it off

In our last story about Jennifer Garner, a few of you floated the theory that Ben Affleck was in rehab again. (I suspect that several commenters on these posts are hired by PR firms. This is just a hunch I have based on the commenting patterns and they’re better than the Johnny Depp people at least.) He very well may be, which would explain why there haven’t been any sightings of him in a while. However In Touch, which gets it right often, says that Affleck is still contemplating whether to go back to rehab after his last stint this spring (his second overall) didn’t really take. We’ve seen him looking tipsy and not maintaining his physique (I’m not body shaming him, he is just not in Batman shape). Recent reports claim he was drinking at the Emmys after parties, which seems like a no brainer but it’s still bad publicity for him. So is it any surprise to hear that he’s being urged to go back to rehab but that he’s trying to do it on his own terms?

In Touch is exclusively reporting that Ben Affleck has spiraled out of control again and those close to him are urging him to go into inpatient treatment for his longest stay ever.

Despite completing two rehab stints for alcohol addiction — in 2001 and 2017 — a confidant close to the star reveals that Ben’s “drinking has gotten worse.” “He’s spiraling out of control,” the confidant explains to In Touch.

“People are urging him to go into inpatient rehab,” a source close to Ben exclusively tells In Touch, adding that many of the people want him to stay longer than he ever has before.

“He knows he needs to check back into rehab,” says the confidant. “The problem is that he wants to go on his terms. He wants to do it on his time, but like most addicts, that time keeps getting put off. This relapse has gone on too long already.”

“When he does [get help],” says the source close to him, “he takes the treatment very seriously and listens to all of the staff’s advice.” And people close to Ben hope he listens to them and takes that “first step” once again. The first insider predicts, “it’s only a matter of time” before Ben is in rehab again.

“This is a disease and he wants nothing more than to be present for his family and his girlfriend,” the confidant tells In Touch…

“Lindsay may not know it,” says an insider, “but she’s enabling him.”

[From In Touch]

I’ve talked about my sobriety so much I sound like Demi Lovato but I have to say it again – if you’re a problem drinker like I was, not drinking is a gift. (If you enjoy it and can stop when you want, this does not apply to you and I know I can be annoying about it.) It’s the gift of health, it’s the gift of more stable moods, it’s the gift of being present for your family and friends. I actually feel sorry for Ben Affleck. The dude committed to playing a superhero, there’s tens of millions of dollars and a franchise at stake and he can’t get sober. He doesn’t seem to really want to. He’s trying to convince himself that it’s ok, that it’s a party and that he can continue to drink if he wants. I’ve been there and don’t ever want to go back.

Also, if Affleck gets sober do you think he will dump Lindsay? I think he’ll passive-aggressively date other women and have less time for her, which is another issue entirely.