Ben Affleck ‘had demons, may have cheated' on Gwyneth Paltrow; new book reveals how their romance imploded 28 years ago

Indian Express

17-07-2025

Gwyneth Paltrow and Ben Affleck dated on and off from 1997 to 2000, right after her breakup with Brad Pitt. At the time, Ben was gearing up for the release of Good Will Hunting, the film he co-wrote and starred in with Matt Damon. But what happened between Ben and Gwyneth 28 years ago was far from a fairytale. The Emma star held no grudges, but she may have hinted that infidelity played a role in the split, according to a new book by Amy Odell that lays out their romance timeline. 'Her friends thought Ben was more of an intellectual match. But he had demons,' Amy writes.
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In the newly released Gwyneth: The Biography, the author writes, 'Affleck was struggling with alcoholism and a gambling habit around the time he met Gwyneth. Her friends had reservations about him because he didn't always reciprocate her affection.' (Via PEOPLE). The book suggests that Ben was more into playing video games with his friends at home than spending time with his girlfriend. The couple dragged their relationship for three years, and all along, Gwyneth's friends kept telling her they weren't fans of Ben, or his behaviour. The author details how the Goop founder would cook dinner for him every day, and he'd still want to head out with the guys. One friend even said Gwyneth would compare him to 'the guys in Entourage.' Still, that didn't stop her from being vocal about their sexual chemistry. 'She spoke openly about how much she enjoyed their sex life,' Amy writes. 'She told [her friend, makeup artist Kevyn] Aucoin one day that she loved her bedroom chemistry with Ben.'
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The Sliding Doors star, in 2023, appeared on the Call Her Daddy podcast where she was asked who was better in bed, Brad or Affleck. She said, 'Brad was like the sort of major chemistry, love of your life, kind of, at the time. And then Ben was, like, technically excellent.' It was around the time of Shakespeare in Love that Ben and Gwyneth called it quits, and the author writes, 'Their physical chemistry couldn't overcome his self-destructive impulses.' Right after the breakup, Gwyneth opened up about the relationship and said, 'I love men, even though they're lying, cheating scumbags,' the book alleges. Later, in 2015, she told Entertainment Tonight that Ben 'wasn't in a good place in his life to have a girlfriend.' Still, she admitted her parents were very fond of the Argo star, found him 'super intelligent, really, really talented, and 'so funny.' But by the end, even they accepted that the two not being together was probably for the best.
After breaking up with Ben, Gwyneth went on to marry Coldplay frontman Chris Martin, while Ben married Jennifer Garner. He's now sober and has been pretty vocal about his struggles with alcoholism. In a 2020 interview with PEOPLE, he said being a father and focusing on his three kids helped him push through. 'My father didn't get sober until I was 19, and so I know how important those years are, and they're all the more critical for me,' he said. He and Gwyneth stayed good friends after the split and even co-starred in the 2000 film Bounce. After her divorce from Martin, Gwyneth married Brad Falchuk in 2016. Meanwhile, Ben recently got divorced from Jennifer Lopez.