Back in August Ben Affleck checked into rehab for the third time . The actor has struggled with alcoholism for his entire adult life, and he sought professional help at the urging of his ex-wife, Jennifer Garner, who staged an impromptu intervention at Affleck’s home before driving him to treatment. These days, Ben is out of treatment, and sources say he’s fully committed to the hard work of recovery. Of course, that means Affleck has had to make quite a few changes in his life, some purely positive, others a bit painful. In the former category, Ben has gotten back together with Lindsay Shookus , the SNL producer he first started dating in 2017. Insiders say Affleck’s drinking interfered with the relationship the first time around, and these days he and Lindsay are happier together than ever before. But of course, not all of the changes in Ben’s newly sober life have been as gratifying as his reconciliation with Shookus. For starters, Affleck has stepped away from his role as Batman in order to focus on his family and his recovery. He does so with the dubious distinction of being the only actor to don the cape and cowl without starring in a standalone film (all of Affleck’s appearances as Batman were in ensemble pieces that functioned as installments in an existing franchise). But Affleck’s been in Hollywood long enough to know that projects don’t always work out as planned, and he likely wasn’t too broken up about the end of his tenure in Gotham. However, the fact that his oldest friendship has begun to fizzle — that may not be sitting so well with the artist formerly known as Batfleck. Yes, according to Star magazine (so take this one with many grains of salt), Matt Damon finds it hard to hang out with Ben now that his former “drinking buddy” has dried out. “It’s not like Matt’s getting drunk and getting in the car – he likes to drink responsibly,” a source tells the tabloid. “But his drinking has absolutely limited the amount of time he can spend with Ben, who’s trying to lead a sober life.” The insider adds that Damon prefers to party with Chris Hemsworth these days because the Aussie actor enjoys knocking back a few Foster’s. “[Hemsworth] never turns down a chance to party with his bros,” the tipster adds. “Matt likes hanging with Chris because he doesn’t have to worry. Being around Ben means he can’t even enjoy a beer.” Not surprisingly, sources close to Damon deny this account. One rep tells Entertainment Tonight that Matt is a “very loyal, stable and grounded friend who only wants success and happiness for Ben.” Yeah, given that Damon’s a 48-year-old father of three with a reputation as a decent guy, we find it hard to believe that he would cut off Ben just because the two of them can’t drink together anymore. Besides, we’re sure both Bostonians perfectly capable of getting all worked up about Tom Brady’s GOAT status while stone sober. View Slideshow: 31 Celebrities Who Have Been to Rehab
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Ben Affleck: Ditched By Matt Damon Due to Sobriety?
