The actor faced criticism after claiming he would still be drinking if he were married to the 13 Going On 30 actress.
However, speaking on Jimmy Kimmel Live, Ben stressed that these comments were part of a larger conversation with presenter Howard Stern.
‘I had gone on, talked about how much we respect each other, cared about each other, cared about our kids, put them first…and they said I had blamed my ex-wife for my alcoholism and that I was trapped, just making me out to be the worst, most insensitive, awful guy,’ the 49-year-old said.
Ben added: ‘I don’t believe that. It’s the exact opposite of who I am, what I believe, and I would never want my kids to think I would ever say a bad word about their mom.’
Ben and Jennifer were married from 2005 until they announced their separation in 2015. They share three kids – Violet, 16, Seraphina, 12 and Samuel, nine – and have stayed on great terms, supporting each other and focusing on co-parenting their kids.
In the Howard Stern interview, Ben said that, had they not split up, they would have likely ‘been at each other’s throats,’ admitting ‘I probably would still be drinking’.
Ben is now sober after several stints in rehab, and while alcoholism runs in his family, he spoke out about how his marriage affected his drinking.
He thought: ‘I can’t leave because of my kids, but I’m not happy, so what do I do?
‘So what I did was like, drink a bottle of scotch and fall asleep on the couch, which turned out not to be the solution.’
Though he ‘loves and respects’ Jennifer, Ben knew they ‘couldn’t be married any longer’.
‘We grew apart, we had a marriage that didn’t work. It happens,’ he added.
The couple ‘tried and tried and tried’ for the sake of their children, but eventually called it quits.
Earlier this year, Ben and Jennifer Lopez rekindled their relationship after first dating in the early noughties. While the actor admitted he had his doubts about reuniting with the singer, the pair seem to be going from strength to strength.
JLo and Ben were most recently spotted holding hands out in Los Angeles as they enjoyed a wintry walk.
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