NO LOOKING BACK

With the dust finally settled following his high-profile divorce from Jennifer Lopez, a wiser and more grounded Ben Affleck is embracing a quieter life

- JAIME HARKIN

Ben Affleck looked like he was in his element during an appearance at CinemaCon at the famed Caesars Palace in Las Vegas on April 2.

There to promote his buzzy new film, The Accountant 2, the actor sporting noticeably darker hair-was relaxed and in good spirits as he talked onstage about the movie and joked around with his costars, including Jon Bernthal.

It's been one year since Affleck's marriage to Jennifer Lopez came to an end. (Lopez, 55, filed for divorce in August on their second wedding anniversary, but their date of separation was listed as April 26; the divorce was finalized in January.) Since then, the dad of three (he and first ex-wife Jennifer Garner share Violet, 19, Fin, 16, and Samuel, 13) has been quietly recalibrating. Away from the intense scrutiny surrounding “Bennifer 2.0,” the 52-year-old star is getting his groove back as he focuses on his kids, his work and his sobriety (he recently told GQ he's been sober for more than five years). “Ben doesn't feel as exposed now, and he likes that,” one source tells Us. Adds a second source: “He’s focused on himself and work, and he seems very happy.”

A source tells Us Affleck (seen in his upcoming flick, The Accountant 2) has been “pouring himself into work.” A new chapter

MOVING FORWARD

Affleck opened up for the first time about the demise of his relationship with Lopez in GQ's April cover story, telling the magazine there was “no scandal, no soap opera, no intrigue” behind their breakup. “There is no, ‘This is what happened,” Affleck insisted. “It’s just a story about people trying to figure out their lives and relationships in ways that we all sort of normally do.”