Ben Affleck keeps using his divorce as a movie promo talking point, and it’s a little gross

Oh, Ben Affleck. He’s making the media rounds to promote his divorce. Oh wait! Scratch that. He’s promoting a movie. Though it’s hard to tell because this morning he had Diane Sawyer read a public apology letter that he wrote to Jennifer Garner. And last week he told The New York Times that “the biggest regret of my life is this divorce.” Hmmm.

Let’s review: Ben Affleck is divorced because of Ben Affleck. Specifically, he reportedly dated the family nanny and, by his own accounts, drank like a fish. These are just the details we know. This is not a man who has since struggled quietly behind closed gates. No, he is a seasoned celeb and father of three whose activities in front of paparazzi include getting fast food with a then-22-year-old Playboy model and being driven to rehab by his ex-wife. He announced his sobriety progress to People (and later relapsed, also in front of paparazzi).

Sober Ben Affleck also appears to be all about Ben Affleck. He said to Diane Sawyer, “I really don’t want my children to pay for my sins, or be afraid for me,” and “I didn’t want to get divorced . . . It upset me because it meant I wasn’t who I thought I was and that was so painful and disappointing in itself.”

He has had many girlfriends in the interim (most publicly SNL producer Lindsay Shookus), who presumably do not appreciate their ex choking up about a former flame on national television. His disclosures come just as Garner, after years of reported singleness, is now in a serious relationship with a Silicon Valley CEO, John Miller.

Ponder that for a moment: Imagine if your ex blew up your family five years ago, waited until the moment you were happily re-partnered, and then choked up on TV talking about how the divorce upset him.

Generally speaking, excellent co-parents can be found, you know, co-parenting. But that’s totally different than publicly siphoning the squeaky-clean public image of one’s ex to promote a movie.