Back on? Ben Affleck and Lindsay Shookus have recently been in contact with each other, a source tells Us Weekly exclusively nearly six months after their split.
“They’ve been talking and have seen each other again. Ben is in a much better place health-wise and is a lot happier,” the source tells Us, noting that the Saturday Night Live producer was the one who “reached out” to the actor.
Affleck, 46, and Shookus, 38, called it quits in August 2018 after more than a year of dating. Days after news of their split broke — and after the Oscar winner was spotted with Playboy model Shauna Sexton — Affleck checked into treatment for his struggle with substance abuse. He completed his third stint in rehab that October, around that same time that the Batman actor and Sexton ended their nearly two-month fling.
The source tells Us that Affleck and Shookus have “always really liked each other and that hasn’t changed.”
“They will keep talking and see what happens,” the source reveals. “It wouldn’t be surprising if they got back together, but with the distance and living on different coasts it’s difficult.”
An insider previously told Us that Affleck’s battle with alcoholism played a role in his breakup with Shookus. “Ben hasn’t been sober or been that present for his family and relationship with Lindsay,” the source said in August 2018. “He was suffering, and his addiction undoubtedly took over.”
A second insider revealed at the time that the duo “tried really hard too make it work, but distance combined with work obligations and other factors made it something that could not work at this time.”
While Shookus lives in New York City, where SNL is taped, Affleck’s primary residence is in Los Angeles. The Gone Girl star and his ex-wife, Jennifer Garner, share three kids: daughters Violet, 13, and Seraphina, 10, and 6-year-old son Samuel.
