Matt Damon Opens Up About Helping Ben Affleck Amid His Divorces & Addiction Struggles: 'I Was There For All Of It'

Ben Affleck knows he lucked out in the best friend department!

Perezcious readers know life has not been easy for Ben over the years. He underwent not one but two very public divorces, as well as struggled with alcohol addiction. Back in 2017, the filmmaker announced he completed treatment for a second time — around the time he and Jennifer Garner finalized their divorce. During the ups and downs and changes in his life, the one person who stayed by his side through it all? Even through Bennifer 2.0 (and possibly 3.0 if it happens)? It is his longtime bestie, Matt Damon.

Related: Ben Affleck Frustrated By Jennifer Lopez’s ‘CONSTANT’ Presence Around His Kids!

During an appearance on The Howard Stern Show on Monday, Ben and Matt sat down for an interview, where they discussed everything from their on-screen collaborations, including Good Will Hunting and The Rip, to their strong relationship off-screen. At one point, Howard Stern mentioned to the guys about “when Ben was going through all his problems,” such as “divorce” and “as he admits, he had a problem with alcohol.” Turning to Matt, the host asked:

“Could you go to Ben and say, ‘I’m here to help you?’”

And no matter what, he was there for the Argo director! The Odyssey actor shared:

“Oh, yeah, our relationship isn’t affected by what people are saying. I was there for all of it.”

Ben, for his part, expressed gratitude for his buddy. He replied:

“That means a lot to me. That’s sort of what a real friend is.”

Aww!

They’ve been supportive of each other from the very beginning, even when they first made waves in Hollywood in their mid-to-late 20s. Matt recalled:

“Your evolution gets kind of stunted at the moment you become famous because the world treats you differently. I think we were lucky in that we were 25 and 27, so we had a handful of years under our belt where we would walk into a room and not turn any heads.”

Together, Matt and Ben added:

“And nobody gave a s**t.”

LOLz! The Gone Girl went on to say he and Matt “got into a good place pretty early on” before their fame got so intense:

“That’s kind of why we’re as sane as we are — to what degree, you may be the judge! But getting famous and successful kind of together, [we had] somebody to turn to and go ‘is this f**king nuts, or what?’ Or to say ‘what are you doing, man?'”

In this business, you need someone to keep you grounded and give you a reality check now and then! It sounds like Ben found that through Matt, and vice versa! How sweet!

Reactions to the interview, Perezcious readers? Let us know in the comments!

If you or someone you know is experiencing substance abuse, help is available. Consider checking out the resources SAMHSA provides at https://www.samhsa.gov/find-help/national-helpline or check out StartYourRecovery.org.

[Image via MEGA/WENN]

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