Ben Affleck is ready to start dating after his split from Jennifer Lopez – but he has a non-negotiable

Ben Affleck finally feels ready to start dating again after his very public split from Jennifer Lopez – but he only wants to date down-to-earth women, insiders claim.

The recovering alcoholic, 52, rekindled his romance with Lopez, 55, in 2021, but the couple filed for divorce in August after months of speculation that their marriage had crumbled.

Affleck reportedly struggled with the “tough” fallout from their breakup, which showed him how important it is to never compromise his sobriety.

“Ben hasn’t given up on relationships and finally feels ready to move on and start dating again,” an insider told DailyMail.com exclusively.

“He won’t get involved in anything serious until the divorce is finalized, but that doesn’t mean he can’t date.”

They continued, “He only wants to date someone who is sober or in recovery. The past two years have been tough for Ben and as he begins to heal, one thing is very clear: his recovery comes first. He will not compromise his sobriety.”

After Affleck left the $68 million mansion he shared with Lopez and moved into his own bachelor pad in Brentwood, California, friends feared he might relapse due to the strain of such public division.

DailyMail.com reported at the time that Lopez turned to the actor’s ex-wife, Jennifer Garner, for help as she was one of the few people who could offer advice.

Affleck was reportedly upset by the news that people feared he would relapse after an extended period of sobriety.

“Ben tries to avoid the news, but it upset him that people thought he was relapsing because he wasn’t,” the source said.

‘Like any alcoholic, Ben wakes up with one goal in mind. To stay sober that day.”

Affleck has been open about his battle with addiction, first quitting drinking in 1997.

“I just wanted to quit,” he told a reporter in 1998. ‘I started to regret some of the things I did when I was drunk. It’s funny to be obnoxious or out of control, but then it’s like, “I think I hurt that person’s feelings,” “I embarrassed myself,” or “I didn’t want to kiss that girl.” . I have virtually no inhibitions, so it’s dangerous for me.’

The recovering alcoholic, 52, rekindled his romance with Lopez, 55, in 2021, but the couple filed for divorce in August after months of speculation that their marriage had crumbled.

He sought treatment for alcoholism in 2001 and went to rehab again in 2017 and 2018, after Garner – with whom he shares children Violet, Seraphina (who now goes by Fin) and son Samuel – staged an intervention with the help of a sober coach. at his home.

In 2020, he explained in The New York Times, “I drank relatively normally for a long time. What happened was that I started drinking more and more as my marriage fell apart.

“This was 2015, 2016. My drinking obviously caused more marital problems.”

He admitted that feeling “trapped” during his marriage to Garner played a role in why he started drinking.

The Gone Girl star further told The Hollywood Reporter: “The idea that I blamed my wife for my drinking. To be clear, my behavior is entirely my responsibility. The point I was trying to make was sad.”

He continued, “I was trying to say, ‘Hey, look, I drank too much, and the less happy you become, whether it’s your job, your marriage, it’s just that as your life gets harder, if you… you do things to fill a hole that isn’t healthy, you’re going to do more of those things.” I think I was pretty articulate about that.”

The actor explained his thought process during those dark times as he recalled, “You know, I thought, ‘I can’t leave because of my kids, but I’m not happy. What should I do?’

“And what I did was drink a bottle of whiskey and fall asleep on the couch, which turned out not to be the solution.”

“He only wants to date someone who is sober… The past two years have been tough and now that he is starting to heal, one thing is very clear: his recovery comes first,” sources said.

Lopez and Affleck were famously engaged in the early 2000s before splitting, only to get back together — and later get married — in July 2022 before holding another ceremony a month later.

Their first romance of two years was highly publicized and the intense scrutiny of their relationship was difficult for the couple to handle.

Lopez filed for divorce in August, on what would have been their second wedding anniversary. Their official divorce date was April 26, 2024.

The On the Floor singer finally broke her silence about their failed union this month, describing her heartbreak as “sad” and “scary” in a risqué shoot with Interview magazine.

Lopez, who did not mention Affleck, added that she isn’t “looking for anyone” at the moment and suggested that her ex didn’t embrace all of her flaws.

Affleck reportedly had a brief affair with Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s daughter, Kathleen “Kick” Kennedy, 36, in the aftermath of their divorce.

Page six was the first to report the news after the couple was spotted getting super cozy at the Polo Lounge in Beverly Hills.

A source told DailyMail.com at the time: ‘Ben and Kick had an affair before he got back together with JLo. They met because Ben is from Boston and if you live in Boston, the Kennedy family is royal.”

The source emphasized that the couple’s romance never overlapped with the actor’s rekindled relationship with Lopez.