Ben Affleck wasn’t ‘very comfortable’ being Jennifer Lopez’s muse
Ben Affleck was hesitant to share details of his private life with Jennifer Lopez the second time around, so he wasn’t ecstatic to be his wife’s muse for her self-financed, $20 million, three-part multimedia project about being a serial romantic.
Lopez explained her husband’s hesitation when she presented him with the project in the documentary “The Greatest Love Story Never Told.” The three-part series also included “This Is Me … Now,” her first album in 10 years and a musical movie that chronicled her journey to find love from childhood until she met the love of her life.
While the Oscar winner, 52, was supportive of the creative process, he had reservations about divulging details of their life behind closed doors. Lopez, 55, however, was an open book.
“I don’t think he’s very comfortable with me doing all of this,” she admitted in a segment of the documentary. “But he loves me, he knows I’m an artist and he’s going to support me in every way he can because he knows he can’t stop me from making the music I made and writing the words that I wrote. That’s going to happen and he doesn’t want to stop me.”
“He wants to do that [for me], but that doesn’t mean he’s comfortable being the muse.”
Affleck explained his reservations about speaking of their rekindled romance before their 2022 marriage and subsequent divorce.
“One of the harder lessons that I have learned is that it’s not wise to share everything with the world,” the actor told the Wall Street Journal in December 2021.
His non-negotiable at the time was sharing his relationship with the world, revealing he wanted to avoid “going into gossipy detail” about their second shot at love.
“I know that I feel more comfortable having those healthy boundaries in my life around which, in a friendly and straightforward way, I tell you, I just don’t want to be talking about my personal relationship in the newspaper,” he stated.
Affleck changed his ways for Lopez’s documentary, which was released in April, just four months before she filed for divorce.
In the project, the actor spoke about Lopez’s yearning for love and acceptance, likely stemming from the alleged neglect she felt at a young age.
“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,” Affleck shared.
Despite his support for the project, the “Hustlers” actress officially pulled the plug on their marriage Tuesday, August 20, on the anniversary of their second wedding ceremony.
She listed the date of separation as April 26, 2024, confirming they were no longer a couple when she celebrated her 55th birthday without him or on their second anniversary when they were on opposite coasts in July.
The pair reportedly did not sign a prenuptial agreement — meaning all the earnings, profits, and assets they made during their union are considered community property. Lopez also chose not to request spousal support and asked the judge not to award Affleck support either.
Her divorce from Affleck will mark number four for Lopez. She was married to Ojani Noa from 1997 to 1998, Cris Judd from 2002 to 2003, and Marc Anthony, with whom she shares 16-year-old twins Emme and Max, from 2004 to 2014.
Affleck was married once before to actress Jennifer Garner. They wed in 2005 after his failed engagement to Lopez. Affleck and Garner announced they were divorcing in 2015, although they didn’t officially file until 2017. The pair were together hours before the Lopez divorce news broke and have three kids: Violet, 18, Seraphina, 15, and Samuel, 12.
