Ben Affleck Breaks Silence Following Alleged Relapse During Visit to Ex Jennifer Garner

Ben Affleck looked well while visiting ex-wife Jennifer Garner on Sunday in California. He made very brief remarks to a group of paparazzi that followed him there, breaking his silence after he appeared to be drunk at a Halloween party Saturday night. The Argo director said he would not let the slip up derail him.

In video published by The Daily Mail late Sunday, Affleck is seen walking from his car to Garner’s house, carrying a cup of iced coffee, while sporting a grey sweatshirt. One of the paparazzo asked Affleck about the video, and he surprisingly took a moment to answer the question.

“It happens. It was a slip, but I’m not going to let it derail me,” Affleck said. “Thank you very much, guys.”

The paparazzi shouted a couple of other questions, but he ignored them and went inside.

TMZ published video appearing to show Affleck slipping as he left the La Peer Hotel in West Hollywood, where he was attending the UNICEF Masquerade Ball. Affleck, who wore a black suit and a Halloween mask, was seen needing to lean on an SUV to steady himself.

“You could tell that it wasn’t an easy thing for him, but Ben owned his mistake,” a source told PEOPLE Sunday. “He said it happens, that he slipped up but that it won’t happen again. It was a smart move because now the story is basically over… He looked tired.”

After the footage was published, a friend of Affleck’s told PEOPLE, “Sobriety is difficult and elusive for everyone struggling with addiction… Ben has acknowledged he’s going to slip up from time to time. It was never as if this was simply behind him.”

Affleck’s alleged slip-up came just hours after he issued a statement on Twitter, confirming he was dating again. He felt the need to speak out after Page Six discovered he had an account on the dating app Raya. Affleck took the moment to urge his fans to donate to The Midnight Mission, which helps people struggling with addiction.

“Ha, you got me. I’m dating,” Affleck wrote. “But let’s be serious for a moment and talk about something that is actually important. I have been in recovery for over a year and part of that is helping out others. The Midnight Mission is an incredible organization that helps those in need with housing, training, development and recovery.”

The actor continued, “I’m making a donation today because there are people battling addiction every day that don’t have the resources and need help. Raya, you in? Who else is with me?”

In October 2018, Affleck told fans he completed a 40-day stint at a treamtent center.

“This week I completed a forty-day stay at a treatment center for alcohol addiction and remain in outpatient care,” Affleck wrote. “Battling any addiction is a lifelong and difficult struggle. Because of that, one is never really in or out of treatment. It is a full-time commitment. I am fighting for myself and my family.”

Affleck and Garner split in 2015, and finalized their divorce last year after Affleck went back to rehab. Since then, he dated Saturday Night Live producer Lindsay Shookus and Playboy model Shauna Sexton. Garner and Affleck have three children, Violet, 13, Seraphina, 10, and Samuel, 7.

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