Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck’s marital turmoil covers this week’s issue of People Magazine. It feels like the old-guard entertainment media has been caught off-guard with this retro Bennifer drama, right? It feels like it took them a second to shake off the cobwebs. I will absolutely hate it if, after twenty years, the second Bennifer crash-and-burn plays out exactly like the first. Will everything once again get assigned solely to Jennifer? While I think J.Lo’s This Is Me Now blunder was the start of all this, Ben is at fault too. Several commenters pointed out that This Is Me Now is sort of comparable to Gigli. It wasn’t that Jennifer was doing way too much, it’s that the project flopped and Ben’s embarrassed. If everyone had fallen all over themselves to praise the visual album and documentary, Ben wouldn’t be this upset. Anyway, here’s some of People’s exclusive cover story:
Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez’s marriage “is not in the best place at the moment,” a source connected to Lopez reveals in the new issue of PEOPLE.
“She likes to open her heart to her fans and to the world,” a music source says of Lopez, who is residing in the couple’s $60 million Beverly Hills marital home while Affleck bunks in a rental a few miles away. “He is more introspective and private. This has been difficult day-to-day.”
Their differences were laid bare in Lopez’s The Greatest Love Story Never Told, a documentary she filmed while making the movie This Is Me…Now: A Love Story. In the doc, which debuted on Prime Video in February, Affleck talked about rekindling their romance in 2021, 17 years after their high-profile relationship fell apart under the weight of “Bennifer”-mania.
“Getting back together, I said, ‘Listen, one of the things I don’t want is a relationship on social media,’ ” said Affleck, who shares children Violet, 18, Seraphina, 15, and Sam, 12, with ex-wife Jennifer Garner, 52. “Then I sort of realized it’s not a fair thing to ask. It’s sort of like, you’re gonna marry a boat captain and you go, ‘Well, I don’t like the water.’ ”
He added that he and Lopez, who has 16-year-old twins Max and Emme with ex-husband Marc Anthony, were “two people with different kinds of approaches trying to learn to compromise.”
Despite Affleck’s participation in The Greatest Love Story Never Told (and other projects, like her 2002 music video for “Jenny From the Block”), a film source says he’s never been completely comfortable showcasing his romance with Lopez to the world. But at the same time, he has never wanted to stand in the way of who she is as an artist. “He’s always been impressed about how she works so hard and has achieved so much success,” says the film source. “But the openness and promotion is not his way.”
Lopez, who self-financed This is Me…Now: A Love Story and the documentary and is launching a 30-show North American tour this summer to promote her new album This is Me…Now, can get irked that Affleck is not as “structured or disciplined in general as Jennifer,” says the film source. “This is not a bad thing. But it causes frustration.”
The film source says it’s too soon to say what will happen to the couple. “I don’t know if they will split, or if this is something they will work through,” says the source.
One thing is certain: Though they have problems, Affleck and Lopez also share a deep bond that spans two decades. Says the music source, “There have always been clashes in their styles and how they handle issues, but nothing has stopped their love over the years.”
“He’s never been completely comfortable showcasing his romance with Lopez to the world…” Again, how much of this is really about This Is Me Now? Because it feels like that is the root of this year’s drama. Jennifer sharing Ben’s love letters with other people… it definitely feels like that was some kind of breaking point, as was Jennifer barreling ahead with those projects despite repeated warnings from her friends, colleagues and team. But what Ben said is correct too – he knew what he was getting into, he knew J.Lo’s whole deal.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images. Cover courtesy of People.
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- HOLLYWOOD, LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, USA – FEBRUARY 13: Ben Affleck and wife Jennifer Lopez (JLo) wearing a Zuhair Murad Couture gown with Joseph Saidian and Sons vintage Van Cleef & Arpels diamond earrings and A.Jaffe diamond rings arrive at the Los Angeles Premiere Of Amazon MGM Studios’ ‘This Is Me…Now: A Love Story’ held at the Dolby Theatre on February 13, 2024 in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, United States.,Image: 846503912, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Pictured: Ben Affleck, Jennifer Lopez, JLo, Credit line: Xavier Collin / Image Press Agency / Avalon
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- HOLLYWOOD, LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, USA – FEBRUARY 13: Ben Affleck and wife Jennifer Lopez (JLo) wearing a Zuhair Murad Couture gown with Joseph Saidian and Sons vintage Van Cleef & Arpels diamond earrings and A.Jaffe diamond rings arrive at the Los Angeles Premiere Of Amazon MGM Studios’ ‘This Is Me…Now: A Love Story’ held at the Dolby Theatre on February 13, 2024 in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, United States.,Image: 846504026, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Pictured: Ben Affleck, Jennifer Lopez, JLo, Credit line: Xavier Collin / Image Press Agency / Avalon
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- HOLLYWOOD, LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, USA – FEBRUARY 13: Ben Affleck and wife Jennifer Lopez (JLo) wearing a Zuhair Murad Couture gown with Joseph Saidian and Sons vintage Van Cleef & Arpels diamond earrings and A.Jaffe diamond rings arrive at the Los Angeles Premiere Of Amazon MGM Studios’ ‘This Is Me…Now: A Love Story’ held at the Dolby Theatre on February 13, 2024 in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, United States.,Image: 846504063, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Pictured: Ben Affleck, Jennifer Lopez, JLo, Credit line: Xavier Collin / Image Press Agency / Avalon
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- HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA – FEBRUARY 13: Jennifer Lopez attends Los Angeles Premiere Of Amazon MGM Studios “This Is Me…Now: A Love Story” at Dolby Theatre on February 13, 2024 in Hollywood, California.,Image: 846559048, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: , Model Release: no, Pictured: Jennifer Lopez, Credit line: Jeffrey Mayer / Avalon
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- Celebrities at the Los Angeles premiere of ‘This Is Me… Now: A Love Story’ Featuring: Jennifer Lopez, Ben Affleck Where: Los Angeles, California, United States When: 13 Feb 2024 Credit: Ryan Hartford/INSTARimages.com
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- Celebrities at the Los Angeles premiere of ‘This Is Me… Now: A Love Story’ Featuring: Jennifer Lopez, Ben Affleck Where: Los Angeles, California, United States When: 13 Feb 2024 Credit: Ryan Hartford/INSTARimages.com
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- Celebrities at the Los Angeles premiere of ‘This Is Me… Now: A Love Story’ Featuring: Jennifer Lopez, Ben Affleck Where: Los Angeles, California, United States When: 13 Feb 2024 Credit: Ryan Hartford/INSTARimages.com
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- Celebrities at the Los Angeles premiere of ‘This Is Me… Now: A Love Story’ Featuring: Jennifer Lopez, Ben Affleck Where: Los Angeles, California, United States When: 13 Feb 2024 Credit: Ryan Hartford/INSTARimages.com
“Introverted” doesn’t mean “introspective”, folks. Pretty sure Affleck isn’t the latter. If he had been, he wouldn’t be in this mess.
I also think this is more about his inability to face being less-than, in any context. Anyway, I hope they can work it out.
ahem mr affleck, we remember the pap walks with ana de armas.
he LOVES the flashing lights, as long as it’s on his terms.
i also hope they work it out!!!! 2 Leos in LOVE
They need better friends who won’t run to People. Also, People deadnamed Ben’s child Fin, which is completely inappropriate.
Thanks for pointing that out. I didn’t know they were going by a new name. People should issue a correction and apology!
It’s pretty sad that she won’t dampen her “look at me!” energy and just enjoy life with her husband. Craving attention over quality of life is just sad.
I think that’s who she is. Shallow as a puddle.
She is not the problem. He’s a drunk and a cheater, who has paps on speed dial. He is playing a tortured artist. He knew Lopez wants the spotlight and chased her. Twice. Stop giving these lame useless dudes excuses. Amber, Angelina, Jada, now Lopez
@Milas — Ben is a recovered alcoholic, not a drunk. Nor is he a violent man like Depp and Pitt so don’t equate him to those monsters. Bennifer are both to blame as neither one can put aside their egos long enough to concentrate on making their marriage work.
Right?? She just had to scream from the mountain top that she “won”. I had second hand embarrassment for them watching the projects. In the documentary, she was so needy! I don’t see how anyone could put up with her long term. She’s 50-something and super successful. She should’ve matured by now.
Since when are we advocating for women to dim their light or be less than to please a man. He claimed to be her biggest fan (now), but still she should make herself smaller or change how she interacts with the world to make him more comfortable. Sorry, but that’s going to have to be a big NO!
Who said she had to “dim her light?” Attention seeking to the detriment of everything else in her life is destroying her life. Her “this is me now” project is a perfect example. She’s so desperate for attention that she ignored common sense and good counsel and ended up making herself look needy and pathetic. Not exactly a shining light.
I’m with you, Lawcatb. If attention gives her energy and creativity or just plain satisfaction, more power to her. I’m sure tons of men would dig that energy and enjoy that life. That Ben might not be one of them is no reason for her to change who she is. She’s also allowed to make strategic mistakes as to her documentary — that does not define her and the moral attachments people are making to her (apparently) lousy documentary is so flippin misogynistic.
I don’t think that’s quite fair. He seems OK with letting Jen shine, and he’s open to working with her. They did the Donut commercial together. But here she wasn’t just asking him to be supportive while she sought the spotlight; she was trying to bring him into it with her. I feel like if he needs to respect her style and approach to publicity, she should try to respect his too.
That was my favorite quality about her, that she didn’t dim her light. Her light just seems different now that I know more about how awful she is to support staff.
Ben absolutely knew what he was getting into. He is more like her than he would ever admit. He understands her, but he is a recovering alcoholic, so he has problems managing his impulses when he is uncomfortable. Failure makes him uncomfortable. He wasn’t in control of her project, so he is annoyed and backing away. They both need years of therapy.
“Biggest fan” is totally different than “costar,” though.
Honestly it’s not just that. She had terrible instincts and this was one of them. No one cared about their “love story” like that and she ignored everyone who rightfully said, eh this isn’t going to be it. And then her album came out. I think though that the TikTok people have been going at her pretty hard core for months now and I just think most people find her inauthentic.
@Milas- You can confirm he’s off the wagon and actively cheating on her? If not, just stop, they both made the huge mistake of deluding themselves that two people are not aligned on how they want to live their personal lives would be able to change 20 yrs later. They’re both set in their ways, they should have understood that. By all means lets blame ONE person for the demise or possible demise of a marriage that Stevie Wonder could see was a mistake. As for Ana De Armas, we still haven’t figured out yet that was for publicity for their movie? They “broke” up as soon as or shortly after it was released.
The Ana De Armas business was more than that. Based on analysis and deductions from what his PR insinuated in the trades, De Armas was a plant placed at his side by his enemies in the industry (e.g., cough Brad Pitt cough). They used her as a plant, and he in turn used her as a smoke and screen.
This ‘marriage’ was supposed to rehabilitate both their images and careers – his post his troubles and substance misuse hers post JRod and now Diddy.
It has worked to an extent but they are not compatible other than as friends
I like them together and hope they make it work this time.
“but nothing has stopped their love over the years”
– Not a fan of Jen Garner, but she did (and apparently some strippers as well). Affleck is literally quoted in Playboy saying they fell in love during the filming of Daredevil. He was dating Lopez then!
And JLo married and had children with someone else, and then almost married another guy.
So bizarre that Affleck is acting like he was dragged to marry Garner against his will. JFC. And I am side eyeing Lopez too. I mean I think she did marry Marc Anthony as a freaking rebound, but she stayed with him the longest out of all of her men/husbands/bfs.
“Nothing has stopped their love over the years.” Except for…each taking spouses, with whom they each had children, and having other romantic partners? I get that their schtick is “a love that defies all odds” but it’s a bit hyperbolic to suggest that they’ve had a long-term relationship that has spanned decades.
You ever take an ex back hoping they’d changed? Only to find out they’re in the exact same place as when you left?
Yeah, that’s this. On both sides.
@Get Real- EXACTLY. THIS.
Great point Get Real!
On another note (and not I am not blaming solely Ben – sharing his love letters I think was the final straw) but my friends and I have a saying called he’s Afflecking you. It means the man is doing whatever he can to get kicked to the curb. He doesn’t want to be the bad guy and leave, so he creates circumstances that are so bad (i.e. sleeping with the nanny) that you have no choice but to leave. I filed for divorce when I got Afflecked.
What’s interesting is this time, he seems to have broken that pattern. He just bounced. No cheating. No strippers. He just is a no show at the premiere leaving her with egg on her face by herself. It’s interesting.
@SIde Eye I love the term Afflecking you.
Lol Thank you Andrea. We say it all the time. Sounds like he’s just Afflecking you…
I would rather be alone than go back to one of the love of my lives from 20 years ago. One is still an alcoholic according to SM and the other fathered a child while with his wife with someone else due to his sex addiction. They are now divorcing. There is always a big reason why you broke up initially.
I feel sorry for them. They look like a cute couple and I really would have loved it for them to work it out this time around. Ben is not a great catch with his addiction issues and I admire every woman who puts up with this.
Women are addicts too. JLo is addicted to relationships.
@Get Real-once again- EXACTLY. THIS.
Not only relationships, but validation, work etc
So much this!
Yes. And fame envy. She simply cannot stop herself from showing off.
She loves to gloat over others.
She desires enormous amounts of superficial attention.
He said in the doc there isn’t enough attention for her just like there isn’t enough alcohol for the alcoholic.
She simply could not stop herself from showing EVERYONE the love letters because in her mind, this absolutely proves his desire for her!
She’s waited 20 years to prove he shouldn’t have left her at the alter!
JLo is addicted to herself.
If the documentary was a hit the situation will be really different…OH YES.
When they got back JLO was in a good place with her career, and he played the game. I mean she was even in his commercial.
But now that her ego project has bombed, he is embarassed. How weird.
IDK, I’ve only *read* about the documentary, and I almost died from second-hand embarrassment. It was SO intrusive to air everything like that to the world– I still can’t believe she plowed ahead with it. I know nothing about Ben, and even I could have told you he’d hate it.
And how do you know this? Are you saying that the massive overstepping of his privacy means nothing to him so long as the project is commercially and critically successful? Is that gaslight or what?
I think her vanity projects about their relationship is only one big issue among several other issues. They are both to blame. She loves love not the work in a marriage. In the documentary Ben was looking at film camera lenses she was bored and said “Who cares?” Um your director husband cares, try to feign interest. She’s a supreme narcissist, he’s a gambling sex alcohol addict with intimacy issues. Together their issues have issues. It’s her fourth marriage. I didn’t think the cracks would show while they were still newlyweds. There’s not enough room in a $60 million estate that he’s renting a house? They’re done. I hope the kids are alright.
I know he’s not faultless or blameless, but her extreme narcissism is over the top.
I knew she traded everything she had for fame, but her never ending unquenchable thirst is just endless!
Yes, the entertainment business is full of Narcs because it requires extreme self focus over anything else, but her narcissism is epic!
I said yesterday her high risk move of showing off the love letters is blowing up in her face! 🔥
You know, you can think yourself into wanting to be with someone & not actually even like them.
Let alone love, you don’t even like them.
This is Ben. He sounds like he doesn’t even like her. Or Jen1, for that matter.
The captain/water comparison is a terrible analogy. What a thing to think let alone say about your wife.
The timing of this separation makes me wonder if this has anything to do with Sean Combs and her former affiliation with him. Who knows what all is about to leak out.
Why there’s always someone who drag her in Diddy’s mess ?
They split in 2001, it was more than 20 years ago! Leave her out of this.
I stated “it makes me wonder”. That is my right and is same as your right to wonder about him being embarrassed. I’m assuming you do not have anymore direct knowledge in this matter either.
It doesn’t matter that her relationship with Sean Coombs (I refuse to call him by his numerous stupid stage names) was 20 years ago, she is still tainted by association with him and his goon squad, even more so now with the release of the nightmarish video of him beating and kicking Cassie Ventura 8 years ago.
“J.Lo loves to share her love life with her fans” – ijbol
Bold of J.Lo to assume she has fans. She has ppl interested in her marriage bc she married someone famous whom she has a history with. However J.Lo is notorious for treating fans and working class/common folk horribly. It’s not just a one off but multiple accounts from diff ppl over many years. Given how she treats ppl irl it’s clear her love story was purely done not for fans but narcissistic reasons.
Ben strikes me as the person who cannot be alone and must be with someone. It was why he was on Raya for so long but also why he married J.Lo despite her sharing everything bc let’s be real outside of this marriage no one cares what J.Lo has going on and I think she knows it. And Ben knows what she’s like but thought he could live with it but turns out he really can’t.
I’m sincerely asking-Does anyone else think that while Ben has always been an A lister and a celebrity in the spotlight that the level of attention Jlo wants or craves and gets or whatever is something that could be triggering to him as an alcoholic?
Yes he knew the deal he was getting into but if the attention on their relationship is overwhelming to him it’s not good.
Not saying she is solely to blame for anything btw.
People aren’t addicts to just one method of release. An alcoholic isn’t just addicted to alcohol, it’s just the method.
Ben’s an addict.
Jlo knows this.
They married in Vegas. Las Vegas. Gambling. Alcohol. The lifestyle there.
She’s not responsible for his choices. You marry an addict, you’d think you’d do whatever you could to ensure their safety both physical & mental.
So do I think this marriage triggers him? Yes, absolutely.
It’s definitely not stable for an addict.
Kokiri thanks for saying this better than I could!
That’s an interesting point of view. Does J-Lo even think he has a problem with gambling, though, or is she possibly an enabler? For that matter, does Ben think he has a problem with gambling? He might not, but being in that environment in Las Vegas as an alcoholic who struggles is a really hard no to me. They had the kids. Maybe they just flew in on a private jet, got married, and flew back home.
I’ve wondered if he moved out because whatever marital problems they were having were bad enough that he felt in danger of relapsing and needed the space and distance between them. People don’t realize his struggle never ends as far as his recovery.
He didn’t go to an ultra-private hotel for some time away like he did with JG a lot during the demise of their marriage. He rented a 10,000-square-foot, ten-bedroom/eight-bath mansion at $100,000 a month close to where his ex-wife and children live. That tells me he plans to be there for a while, with the strong possibility that he never moves back into the marital home.
he is not private lmao they are both fame wh*res who love attention.
he adores pap walks and also did them with ana de armas and Jennifer garner. where is coming this narrative from. there are actors who are private ben affleck is not one of them.
I think he doesn’t want to share as much as she does. Being photographed with coffee? No problem. Having your love letters shared with a bunch of your wife’s coworkers? Problem.
I would also suspect being the focus of “the greatest love story never told” by your spouse would lead to pressure in the relationship. The hero of that love story wouldn’t leave his socks on the floor or be in a bad mood
I call your attention to the fabled Scorpion and the Frog. He knew her nature and married her anyway, knowing the risks.
I wonder if her mask slipped? She is famously a horrible person, and she can’t keep up the act forever. Perhaps she treated someone important to him poorly?
A relationship is about compromise. What were the compromise Jlo did for this relationship ? I’ve seen Ben go to every red carpets with her when he walked the red carpet with Garner a couple of times in 10 years of marriage. Attend fashions shows with her when he’s never been before and it’s clearly not his thing. Produced the doc to support her when he was visibly uncomfortable.
She not only shared his private love letters without his consent but her saying
“I don’t think he is very comfortable with me doing all of this” . “But he loves me, he knows I’m an artist, and he’s gonna support me in every way he can because he knows you can’t stop me from making the music I made. He doesn’t want to stop me. But that doesn’t mean he’s comfortable being the muse.” showed me how easily it must have been for her to discard his feelings and boundaries on a daily basis.
Ben is not a walk in the park either, we all know it he has very deep issues and an addict will be struggling for the rest of his life
This. I snorted my drink all over the keyboard when I read that he talked about both of them trying to compromise. If her compromising about oversharing means making a documentary maybe someone should explain compromise to her? He’s always been a piece of work, but what in the world made him think he would handle this better the second time around, this time with the added weight of dealing with addiction?
I rarely comment on stories but this one made me so mad. Ben treated Gwyneth, Jennifer Garner, and Jennifer Lopez like dirt – all the cheating and the drinking. Now he’s trying to say everything is Jen’s fault. No one forced him to marry her. He needs to start acting like a real man.
Moral of the story: just because the sex is great doesn’t mean you should get married.
Funny thing is they both said years ago that the sex wasn’t great… LOL
Honestly, Ben Affleck gets on my nerves. I love that he’s never the problem. I will say this, good for Ana de Armas for breaking up with him once she realized that he wasn’t going to compromise on what she needed. He ran to JLo with the quickness as soon as that ended. No one dragged him to be with her.
And honestly, let’s call it out, Ben is upset because this documentary was not a hit, was roundly mocked, and it makes HIM look bad. In his eyes, he’s an Oscar winner, has directed great movies, and is trying to get his production company with Damon moving along and he’s worried about that. That dude turns on the women in his life when any of them don’t do what he wants/needs real quick.
I still feel bad that Garner apparently gave birth without an epidural once to show Ben how strong she was. Lord.
I’m pretty sure everyone knows/believes he was the problem in his marriage to Jennifer Garner. He cheated. Even if it was a complicated situation and she wasn’t perfect either, there’s no excuse for cheating with the nanny. That’s such a betrayal. And I say this as someone who likes Ben a lot as an actor and director and thinks that, for all his issues, he’s not a bad person.
I don’t know, Hollywood keeps embracing freaking Brad Pitt so I think they may be like, oh yep, totally not Ben’s fault for any of this crap he keeps doing.
I think there is more going on than just her documentary & video. There was chatter that Ben did not want to pay $60 million for a home. It took them a year to find a home. They had looked at this home now & passed on it & were still looking but I think JL wanted that home & wasn’t going to let it get sold. Yes, JL has $, but I think she spends it as fast as she is making it! I think she thought that she would command $1,000’s for her touring tickets & reality hit her hard! I think that Ben has not communicated to her his feeling on ALL this ( and that is on him) -Hence her liking that post.
I get having disagreements but this must have gotten pretty bad for Ben to not be living with her & renting a house. Think about it, he could just sleep on a couch, a guest room or even in that 5,000 Sq ft guesthouse? But instead, he is renting? Even when he & JG were divorcing, Ben stayed in the guesthouse on their property.
I am surprised ( but not shocked) that she is still going on her tour dates.
Ironically, she said in an interview that she was not going to be home for her birthday. The interviewer told her that she was going to be in TX. She acted surprised but she knew where she would be on that date.
Neither one of them should have to change to be what the other wants. They should both be able to be themselves. Compromising is different but BOTH have to be willing or their marriage will fail..
Before I write a comment like Benne-fail (it is hard not to), this is how marriage tests you. You make it through or you don’t. Taking off and separating so early in the marriage is not the way to do it. Learning how to argue and have a disagreement without buckling down to your position is one of the biggest and best things a married couple can learn for longevity.
I don’t think JLo will respond well for long to this rejection from Ben. Leaving the home? No. That’s not what he should have done, you stay and you work it out. Til death do you part
And no, if she treasured his love for her, those love letters should have stayed private. She opened them up to the world, and the world is having its way and it’s affecting them. At this age, to be that insecure… She has herself to blame for that one
Agree. I would never, EVER share the love letters Mr. Jaded sent me when we were “courting” even with my friends, let alone the rest of the world. I don’t know what it is about her that drives her to constantly overshare her “greatest love of her life”. Is it insecurity or just a combination of narcissism and braggadocio? In any event she stepped on a rake and they both seem to be too immature to talk it through, they just huff off to their corners and sulk. What children…
I am *still* rooting for them to work it out. Which admittedly would take a lot of couples therapy, which is hard if not impossible to do when one person is on a big national concert tour. I guess my read on it is that there is a really profound love and attraction there, but one or (more likely) both of them are too stuck in their unhealthy routines (of needing constant public validation on her end, of not being able to define or communicate healthy limits/boundaries on his end) to have a long-term relationship.
I find Ben to be a very introspective man. Some on here keep saying her movie flopped.
Again, it got very good reviews on Rotten Tomatoes for the most part. That’s what Ben cares about. So he’s not unhappy about that. Ben had said he was relieved to see that ultimately it wasn’t a story about him but about her journey. Now, while the documentary did show her cavalier use of his love letters book to her, which to me was shocking sharing that with so many people, it also showed a lot of ease and tenderness and love between them in the small parts seen with Ben.
It feels like it is a lot building up to the point he moved out. Jlo’s past shows her men accompanying her everywhere and on tour. J-Lo is an alpha in her relationships as far as wanting someone by her side all the time. She’s been filming, doing premieres, Met Gala, and promotion of the love movie/doc/tour/album, rehearsals, promoting her brand. She will be doing another movie later this year after her tour. She has her children and Marc isn’t very involved.
It’s been a busy year for both with Ben filming and also running his new company, Artists Equity, and an equal share of co-parenting with JG. Were there a lot of fights leading up to him moving out because of J-Lo’s expectations? Ben does have a busy career and isn’t going to be flying everywhere being J-Lo’s companion. Either can’t or won’t at times. I just don’t see him flying around with her on tour between it being the summer and him having three children and a busy career. Can she accept that? Maybe those were big points of contention this year leading to a lot of arguing.
Ben is also a moody man. He has his ups and downs as we’ve all seen. He has talked about living with anxiety, depression, and being a recovering alcoholic. He appears to me to be on prescribed medication. I think he has to take not drinking one day at a time. He said there is a genetic component to his alcoholism. Both of his grandfathers were alcoholics, as was his dad, who did get sober 30 years ago. Even his brother drank too much and is now sober. He is a guy who likes to spend time at home.
Maybe they can make it work after time apart and both have more free time and both come to a “real” compromise regarding being a public couple.
What Ben said about J-Lo.
“Jen felt emotionally neglected as a child,” Ben Affleck said in the segment. “We are kind of learning more and more that it doesn’t have to be the kind of trauma where you’re locked in a basement for a year to leave wounds on you. In fact, they’re deceptive when they’re harder to pin down.”
He continued, “It’s a hard thing to look at somebody whose professional life is wildly successful and who, on Instagram, looks like they’re living the happiest life in the world.”
Drawing parallels to his own struggles, Ben Affleck reflected, “The thing you discover like you do with alcohol is that there isn’t enough alcohol in all liquor stores in the world to fill up that thing. And in Jennifer’s case. I don’t think there’s enough followers, or movies or any of that stuff to still that part of you that still feels a longing and a pain. Ultimately, that’s the work that you’ve got to do on your own.”
Neither of these people are demonstrating basic respect for one another.
In my life, I have struggled writing more private and personal thoughts because I had parents who didn’t allow me any personal boundaries or privacy.
If I opened up to a lover with personal heartfelt letters intended for their eyes alone, and they publicized my writing, I think I would end the relationship. It’s a betrayal of vulnerability and trashing a big romantic gesture of trust.
Ben is deeply flawed; see the drinking, the Shookus, the nanny, on and on. But Jen learned nothing from the first breakup and needed so badly to have a “told ya so” moment in public that she made all the same mistakes again. Everyone wants to say that neither of them learned or grew, but he seems sober and private while she seems messy and foolhardy.
I think it’s simplistic to think their problems were about “this is me now.” She was recording those songs while doing this Atlas movie right around the time they got married. Then She spent 2 months filming the movie (and simultaneously the doc) early in 2023. So over a year ago. And the music didn’t sell maybe but both films were well received. I think they just have two giant battling egos and both want their way or the highway. Not anything you can pinpoint as a breaking point. Like most divorces it’s no one persons fault or it’s everybody’s fault. I know everyone will take sides that’s what people do even in family or friend divorces but it’s really not ever fair. And that People article is worthless as usual from them.