Ben Affleck is back home after less than two weeks at an exclusive rehab felicity in Malibu, where he was reportedly dealing with a relapse of his alcohol addiction, according to a celebrity photo agency that on Wednesday published images of the actor outside his mansion.
The site X17online reported that Affleck’s soon-to-be ex-wife Jennifer Garner picked Affleck up at the Van Nuys airport Friday. On Aug. 22, the actress whisked him from his mansion after staging what was described as an intervention because, TMZ said, the actor, 46, had fallen off the wagon “a while ago” and become “progressively worse” in his drinking.
.@BenAffleck is out of rehab after only 2 weeks! and the 1st thing he did was invite Playboy model #shaunasexton over… you're not going to believe these pix & this story! https://t.co/68yjeE91W2 pic.twitter.com/Mm4CdOJi8S
— X17online.com (@x17online) September 5, 2018
The day of the supposed intervention, Garner had arrived at her ex-husband’s home with an attorney and a bible. A distraught, disheveled Affleck, 46, was ready to hear what Garner had to say, TMZ said, reporting that Affleck “knows he needs help and was receptive.”
Affleck appeared to be in pretty bad shape https://t.co/OuQt6YPywc
— Page Six (@PageSix) August 23, 2018
Affleck reportedly had checked himself into The Canyon in Malibu for “an extended stay” but it wasn’t clear whether that stay involved the standard 28 days of inpatient treatment or some other timeframe. Maybe it involved the latter.
X17online also showed a photo that suggested Affleck had a visitor Wednesday morning: 22-year-old Playboy model Shauna Sexton. The site said Sexton’s blue Acura sedan was parked in front of Affleck’s home as he strolled up Wednesday morning, perhaps after he had gone for a walk or a run around his neighborhood.
The “Batman v. Superman” had been squiring Sexton around last month, just as news came that he had broken up with his longtime girlfriend, “Saturday Night Live” producer Lindsay Shookus.
In the week before going into rehab, Affleck was photographed leaving a romantic dinner with Sexton at Nobu Malibu on Aug. 16 and then getting drive-through cheeseburgers at a Jack in the Box in Santa Monica on Aug. 19.
In the past few days, Sexton has hit back at a fan’s suggestion that she contributed to Affleck falling off the wagon, Us Weekly reported.
Sexton responded to a comment on an Instagram photo that showed her smiling as she held a glass of red wine. After the fan asked if she had gotten Affleck “thrown into rehab,” Sexton insisted she “never drank around or with him for the record.”
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bm7IBXZhPyC/?taken-by=shaunasexton_
Sexton also admitted that she had previously gotten into trouble for underage drinking and public intoxication but that she likes to drink and to party. “Most 22 years do,” she said.
X17online said that Affleck and Sexton stayed in touch during his rehab stay, but it was Garner who picked him up at the airport. Garner also brought him back to their former marital home in Pacific Palisades ,where he spent the night, before he headed back to his own mansion in the affluent Los Angeles neighborhood.
It’s been reported that Affleck and Garner have stayed friendly and enjoy a strong co-parenting relationship for the sake of their children, Violet, 12; Seraphina, 9; and Samuel, 6. Garner also clearly has been a pillar of support in Affleck’s ongoing struggles with alcohol abuse.
Garner and Affleck first broke up in 2015, around the time Garner learned he had been secretly dating Shookus since 2013 or 2014. They filed for divorce in 2016 but have delayed finalizing the split due to Garner’s concerns about Affleck’s health and sobriety.
Garner, who has been promoting her new action thriller “Peppermint” in between dealing with Affleck’s issues, will continue to be there for him “no matter the circumstances” and despite “everything they’ve been through,” a source told Us Weekly.
That unwavering loyalty is for the sake of their kids.
“Jen just wants Ben to be the best father he can be,” a Garner confidant told Us Weekly. “She wants to give their kids the best life possible.”
Affleck admitted to long struggling with alcohol abuse. He first went to rehab in 2001, then sought help again in early 2017.
