In Touch is exclusively reporting that Ben Affleck has spiraled out of control again and those close to him are urging him to go into inpatient treatment for his longest stay ever. Despite completing two rehab stints for alcohol addiction — in 2001 and 2017 — a confidant close to the star reveals that Ben’s “drinking has gotten worse.” The confidant explains, “He’s spiraling out of control.”

“People are urging him to go into inpatient rehab,” a source close to Ben exclusively tells In Touch, adding that many of the people want him to stay longer than he ever has before. “He knows he needs to check back into rehab,” says the confidant. “The problem is that he wants to go on his terms. He wants to do it on his time, but like most addicts, that time keeps getting put off. This relapse has gone on too long already.”

ben affleck drinking

Jeff Garlin, Charissa Thompson, Larry David, Lindsay Shookus and Ben Affleck attend the HBO’s Official 2017 Emmy After Party at The Plaza at the Pacific Design Center on Sept. 17, 2017 in Los Angeles, California.

“When he does [get help],” says the source close to him, “he takes the treatment very seriously and listens to all of the staff’s advice.” And people close to Ben hope he listens to them and takes that “first step” once again. The first insider predicts, “it’s only a matter of time” before Ben is in rehab again. “This is a disease and he wants nothing more than to be present for his family and his girlfriend,” the confidant says.

Unfortunately, Ben’s new girlfriend, Lindsay Shookus, isn’t helping the situation. As In Touch previously reported, the star was spotted at HBO’s Emmy afterparty at Pacific Design Center in West Hollywood on Sept. 17 drinking. “He ordered a water [at the bar],” says a witness. However, once he sat down in a booth with Lindsay and Curb Your Enthusiasm star Larry David, Ben switched to something harder. “A waiter brought a short glass filled with whiskey and Coke,” says the witness. While Ben downed his drink, Lindsay, who’d won an Emmy for Outstanding Variety Sketch Series, toasted with champagne. “Lindsay may not know it,” says an insider, “but she’s enabling him.”

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Watch the video below for more details on Ben’s drinking.

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