Ben Affleck‘s feelings for ex-wife Jennifer Garner have never wavered. Although their marriage ended in divorce, the actor continues to praise Garner as both a person and mother to their three children, calling himself “lucky.”..

Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck were wed for 10 years. The couple shares three children.

Although their marriage didn’t work out, the couple remained committed parents to Violet, Sam, and Fin. Affleck shared the importance of letting his children know that while his marriage to their mother didn’t last, he still had the utmost respect for her.

Affleck told People Magazine in 2020 that he would always consider himself “lucky” Garner was his children’s mother. “When you have children with somebody, you’re connected to them forever,” says the actor. “And I’m very lucky she is the mother of my children.”

I’m very grateful and respectful of her,” he continued. “Our marriage didn’t work, and that’s difficult. Both of us really believe that it’s important for kids to see their parents respect one another and get along, whether they’re together or not.”

In an interview with The New York Times, Ben Affleck revealed that alcohol consumption was one of the contributing factors to the end of his and Jennifer Garner’s marriage. “I drank relatively normal for a long time. And I started drinking more and more when my marriage was falling apart. That was in 2015-2016. Alcohol, of course, created many marital problems.”

He continued, “The biggest regret of my life is this divorce. Shame is really toxic. There is no positive by-product of shame. It is just a toxic and hideous feeling of low self-esteem.”

However, Affleck understood that while he made mistakes, he hoped to learn from them and “keep going ahead.” He said, “It’s not particularly healthy for me to be obsessed with failures, relapses, and hurt myself. I certainly made mistakes. I certainly did things I regret. But you need to compose yourself, learn from it, learn a little more, try to keep going ahead.”

Garner also remains dedicated to speaking well of Affleck to their children. In a 2018 Instagram post celebrating Father’s Day, Garner said, “Our kids are lucky to have a dad who looks at them the way you look at them and loves them the way you love them.”