JEN TO THE RESCUE

MISERABLE IN HIS CRUMBLING MARRIAGE TO JENNIFER LOPEZ, BEN AFFLECK CRAWLS BACK TO FIRST WIFE JENNIFER GARNER BUT FRIENDS WORRY THAT THE EXES' LACK OF BOUNDARIES WILL END IN HEARTBREAK.

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HE looked like he’d been through the ringer. Wearing a plaid shirt and a frown, Ben Affleck drove from the $61 million Beverly Hills estate that, until recently, he shared with second wife Jennifer Lopez and made his way back to his $100,000-a-month rental property in L.A.’s Brentwood neighborhood on June 15. Soon after, Ben’s ex-wife, Jennifer Garner, pulled up. But instead of requesting to be admitted through the security gate, Jen leaned out of her car, punched a few numbers into a callbox and disappeared inside.

Ben’s made his choice. “He’s given Jen the code to his house so she can come right in,” a source tells Star. “Other people have to be buzzed in, but not Jen. She can come and go whenever she wants.” In recent weeks — as it’s become increasingly clear that Ben’s nearly two-year marriage to J.Lo, 54, is beyond repair — the Oscar winner has turned to his first wife for support nine years after their own marriage crumbled. “Jen’s been wonderful. She doesn’t judge,” says the source. “Sure, Ben drives her crazy sometimes, but there’s an unbreakable bond there. Ben says Jen’s an angel and tells her she’s the only one who can save him.”

FEARS FOR BEN

As Ben and J.Lo’s marriage descended into crisis this spring, concern mounted for the 51-year-old actor-director and recovering alcoholic. “A lot of people in Ben’s circle are worried he’ll fall apart and relapse — Jen included,” admits the source. “That’s one of the reasons why she’s keeping close tabs on him. She’s spending time with him, being a good listener. No one wants to see Ben succumb to his old self-destructive habits.”