Zac Affleck has spoken out for the first time after Jen Affleck filed for divorce after seven years of marriage.
He said a reporter told him Jen had filed for divorce.
The 30-year-old discussed their split in a November 5 TikTok video, admitting mistakes and urging followers not to blame Jen.
Jen, 27, is pregnant with their fourth child. The pair already have three children together.
Zac Affleck admits mistakes in his marriage to Jen Affleck
“I’ll be the first to say I’ve made plenty of mistakes in our marriage,” Zac said in the TikTok.
He urged followers not to take sides over the split and said he would continue to support Jen.
Reflecting on their relationship, Zac described the pressures of raising children and having a marriage in the public eye. He said their connection had gradually faded after they married young.
“Marriage is hard, having your marriage in the public is hard, raising kids is hard,” he admitted. “I think slowly over time we lost that spark.”
Still, he spoke warmly about Jen, saying he loved her and praising her kindness.
@zacaffleckk♥️♥️♬ original sound – Zac Affleck
Jen Affleck first raised divorce a year ago
The pair married in Newport Beach, California, in 2019.
Zac said Jen first told him she wanted a divorce around a year earlier after Dancing With The Stars.
He recalled asking her to stay and promising to change, but said they ultimately could not repair the relationship.
“Jen came to me about a year ago after Dancing With The Stars and told me she was unhappy and wanted a divorce,” he said. “And I basically begged her to stay, told her work on things, fix things, become whoever she needed me to be, and ultimately just we couldn’t make it work.”
Read more: Julia Stiles and Ezra Sosa reveal matching Dancing With The Stars tattoos following their exit
Us Weekly reported that Jen filed a divorce petition on November 3, along with a proposed parenting plan.
The plan’s details remain private, according to the outlet. TMZ reported that the court documents did not specify a reason for the split.
“I found out from a TMZ reporter about the filing,” Zac said in his video.
Zac Affleck puts co-parenting first
Zac said his priority was a healthy co-parenting relationship as Jen prepared to give birth. He worried about how the split could affect their children.
“I just hope that we can still give them a normal childhood,” he said.
He said he and Jen agreed on wanting the best possible life for them.
Alongside family life, Zac discussed possible next steps for his career. He mentioned it wasn’t that easy for him to go back to medical school but he has started looking into businesses or pursuing a PhD.
Jen Affleck hits back at Zac in TikTok video
Shortly after Zac posted his video, Jen had a fiery response to his statement. She shared a throwback video of herself when she was two weeks postpartum. Alongside the video, Jen had a telling caption on TikTok: “He was never my biggest supporter.”
In the video, Zac seemingly told Jen: “I hope you’re not making a TikTok looking like that. Your [bleep] are sagging all over. You don’t want to post that baby I’ll tell you that right now.”
She laughed and asked: “Am I embarrassing myself?”
Zac responded: “A little bit, I would hope you wouldn’t want to post that.”
After she posted, one fan took to Zac’s original video to call him out. The person wrote: “As much as I don’t like Jen… if my husband told me my boobs were “saggy” 2 weeks after giving birth I’d never forgive him.”
Zac apologised for the “horrible and hurtful things” he said to his wife.
He wrote in response: “This was a video from 2022. Obviously horrible and should have never been said. When I saw the video today I was absolutely shocked I had said that. I said a lot of horrible and hurtful things but I have tried my best to learn and grow.”
It comes as Jen attended a premiere for The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives: Orange County on November 4.
TMZ reported that her castmates supported her at the Santa Monica event. Castmate Aspyn Ovard checked on Jen, who said she was OK and gave her a hug.
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