Dining out with his children Violet, 12, Seraphina, 9, and Samuel, 6, to celebrate turning 46 on August 15, a smiling Ben Affleck looked happy and healthy.

Less than a week later, the Justice League star looked puffy and visibly distraught being driven in the back seat of a car by estranged wife Jennifer Garner to his latest stint in rehab.

“It’s very stressful for her,” an insider told People of the actress, who had been enjoying the last of the northern summer holidays with her children.

“And also devastating for her to have to stage an intervention in the middle of the afternoon, pretty much in public. But this was a crisis situation.”

Affleck, who has sought treatment for addiction twice before, agreed to return to rehab at a Malibu, California, centre after Garner, 46, took charge on August 22.

The dramatic move came after the Oscar winning actor broke up with his longterm girlfriend, Saturday Night Live producer Lindsay Shookus, 38, then was seen having dinners and driving around Los Angeles with Playboy model Shauna Sexton, 22.

On the afternoon she drove Affleck to the inpatient facility, Garner – casual in jeans and sneakers – visited his home twice.

Before driving her husband away, she walked outside the house and pleaded with photographers to give her and Affleck “space” and to be respectful.

Her request fell on deaf ears.

Ben Affleck Seeks Help and Will Go to Rehab After Intervention by Jen Garner https://t.co/SL6oZRuwf8

— TMZ (@TMZ) August 23, 2018

While she’s said Violet, Seraphina and Samuel are her top priority, she also “has to take care of Ben and make sure that he gets help”, the People source said.

The couple split in 2015, a day after their tenth wedding anniversary, amid rumours that Affleck had become too close to the family’s nanny. Affleck denied the rumours.

Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck at an L.A. charity benefit in 2013. Photo: Getty

Two years after first filing for divorce, the pair are still legally married and still celebrate family occasions together. For months after they broke up, they lived at the same property.

On Monday, while the Peppermint actress was cheered on by her parents and children as she received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, Affleck was “on the other side of town … in need of help,” according to E! News.

Photos that day showed him in tracksuit pants receiving an alcohol delivery in a beer-label branded box at his house.

“Ben was having a really tough time,” a source told E! News. “He continues to battle addiction. He reached out for help this week.”

According to People, “warning signs that Affleck was struggling added up quickly”.

The day after his birthday he was seen with Sexton, and on August 19 they spent time at his place before heading out to a fast food drive through.

The next day, Affleck took delivery of the booze at home. While he had been in ongoing treatment for alcohol addiction, Playboy’s May 2018 Playmate Sexton told the magazine her signature drink is “whisky all day.”

She’s also fond of posting lingerie and bikini photos on social media for her 63.1k followers:

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bmd9eMBh2IT/?taken-by=shaunasexton_

Affleck, who has used yoga and meditation to help him with addiction, was first admitted to rehab in July 2001. His friend Charlie Sheen drove him to another Malibu centre, where he graduated from a 30-day residential program.

In March 2017, he announced on Facebook that he had again “completed treatment for alcohol addiction” but called his illness something he “will continue to confront.”

Saying his goal was the “be the best father I can be”, Affleck paid tribute to his “co-parent Jen”, who “has supported me and cared for our kids as I’ve done the work I set out to do.”

Fans of both stars reacted to the news that Garner still has Affleck’s back, calling her a “great woman” and a “saint”: