Jennifer Garner Seen In Good Spirits After Ben Affleck's Comments; Twitter Slams Actor

Fans rallied behind Jennifer Garner after her ex-husband Ben Affleck's recent controversial comments about their marriage.

The "13 Going on 30" star was spotted in good spirits in Santa Monica, California, Wednesday, a day after Affleck said on "The Howard Stern Show" that he felt "trapped" in his marriage to Garner and likely "still would've been drinking" if he hadn't separated from the actress in 2015.

In photos obtained by Daily Mail, Garner, 49, flashed a big smile and held a cup of coffee as she went for a stroll with her children, Seraphina, 12, and son Samuel, 9, whom she shares with Affleck. They also have a 16-year-old daughter, Violet.

The actress was dressed casually for the outing, sporting a black top, puffy cream jacket, blue leggings, black knee-high socks and dark blue sneakers.

Affleck, who went to rehab for alcoholism in 2018, told Howard Stern Tuesday, "Part of why I started drinking was because I was trapped."

"I was like, 'I can't leave because of my kids, but I'm not happy, what do I do?' And what I did was [I] drank a bottle of scotch and fell asleep on the couch, which turned out not to be the solution," the actor said before later adding that he and Garner split "amicably."

Affleck was slammed on Twitter over his comments, with fans and social media users saying that he appeared to place a big part of the blame for his alcoholism on Garner.

"When you can’t accept that your drinking problem is because of you, you still have a drinking problem. Jennifer Garner didn’t drive Ben Affleck to drink. She did, however, drive him to rehab, probably saving his life," one person tweeted.

"Is this man serious?" another netizen wrote. "is he seriously throwing Jennifer Garner under the bus even though she was there for him in his lowest moments? Taking him to rehab, keeping a dignified silence after their divorce, putting her kids and him first, and this is how Ben Affleck repays her."

"I am once again begging Ben Affleck to stop talking about Jennifer Garner," another tweeted.

One Twitter user shared a quote from Garner's 2016 interview with Vanity Fair in which the actress refused to claim responsibility for Affleck's infamous back tattoo of a rising phoenix.

Some Twitter users also came to Affleck's defense, pointing out that he wasn't blaming Garner at all in the interview.

"He did not give an interview about her. The tabloids, as usual, pulled one very small snippet and made it sound like he was blaming her. He was not," one person wrote.

"He said he was in an unhappy marriage where they were staying together for the kids, which led him to drink. He said nothing bad about Jennifer Garner," another pointed out.

A third user commented, "That's not a bad statement. Admitting you're unhappy in a relationship is OK. What is going on on Twitter right now? Is it all the under 25s freaking out, or did a whole lot of people forget how humans work?"

"I don’t think he blamed her. It had more to do with his emotional state," another wrote.

Affleck and Garner split in 2015 after 10 years of marriage, and their divorce was finalized in 2018. They have maintained an amicable relationship as they co-parent their three children and are often photographed spending time together.

Both have since moved on. Affleck reignited his romance with ex-fiancée Jennifer Lopez in April. Garner also got back together with ex-boyfriend John Miller after they split last year.