Ben Affleck has reflected on the "painful" mischaracterisation of comments he once made about his marriage to Jennifer Garner.

During an interview on The Howard Stern Show in late 2021, the Good Will Hunting actor discussed his battle with alcoholism and claimed that he would "probably still be drinking" if he was still married to the Elektra actress.

Later, Ben insisted online articles about the conversation had twisted his words for the purpose of clicks, and in an interview for The Hollywood Reporter published on Thursday, he maintained that he has always taken ownership of his behaviour.

"We loved each other. We care about each other. We have respect for each other. I was trying to say, 'Hey, look, I was drinking too much, and the less happy you become, whether it's your job, your marriage, it's just that as your life becomes more difficult, if you're doing things to fill a hole that aren't healthy, you're going to start doing more of those things.' I think I was pretty articulate about that," he said. "It was the New York Post who deliberately mischaracterised it in order to make it clickbait, and everyone else then picked it up, and it didn't matter how many times I said, 'I do not feel this way. I'm telling you, I don't blame my ex-wife for my alcoholism.'"

Ben, who has been open about his struggles with alcoholism, has been sober since early 2020.

The 50-year-old married Jennifer in 2005 and their divorce was finalised in 2018. They share three children.

Ben tied the knot with Jennifer Lopez in July 2022.