Ben Affleck dating the nanny? ‘Complete garbage, full of lies,’ says rep who threatens legal action
Ben Affleck has been dating his kids’ former nanny? Not so much, his camp says, despite a flashy magazine cover making that claim on Wednesday.
“This is a false and baseless story based on innocuous photos, and we’re looking at pursuing legal action,†said an Affleck rep who strongly denied the Us Weekly report.
“We’re coming out fighting,†the rep told the Los Angeles Times, later adding, “The story is complete garbage and full of lies.â€
In June, the “Argo†Oscar winner, 42, and wife Jennifer Garner, 43, announced their intention to divorce after what was later reported to be a 10-month trial separation. They’d been married for 10 years.
According to Us, Affleck “didn’t have to look far to find a new romance†and supposedly started dating 28-year-old nanny Christine Ouzounian during the separation but before the split went public. Ouzounian was hired in the spring to care for the couple’s three young children but no longer works for the family, the story said.
“You shouldn’t be able to hide behind ‘blind sources’ and attempt to destroy families going through a difficult time,†Affleck’s rep told The Times. “It’s like story time in kindergarten.â€
“We go forward with love and friendship for one another and a commitment to co-parenting our children whose privacy we ask to be respected during this difficult time,†the couple said in a joint statement June 30, in which they announced they’d made “the difficult decision to divorce.â€
Rumors in the immediate aftermath of that announcement, while abundant, made no mention of other parties figuring into the split. A People cover story a week later did reference “allegations of infidelity†from several sources, with the caveat that Affleck “vehemently†denied such accusations.
“Saying he’s a bad father and a husband is an easy story, and everyone has wanted to clock him as a womanizer and gambler,†someone described as “close to the couple†told the mag at the time. “He couldn’t deal with her expectations. When you’re told you’re not good enough, you start to believe it.â€
Follow Christie D’Zurilla on Twitter @theCDZ and Google+. Follow the Ministry of Gossip on Twitter @LATcelebs.
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