Jane Fonda shares candid ‘concern’ about Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck’s PDA
Jane Fonda has expressed her “concern” about the dynamics of Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck’s relationship.
The 86-year-old actor shared her candid thoughts about the couple, who first rekindled their relationship in 2021 after over a decade apart, while appearing in Lopez’s new documentary, The Greatest Love Story Never Told, which comes out on 27 February on Prime Video. According to Variety, Fonda acknowledged in the documentary that while she’s been a fan of Affleck and Lopez’s relationship, she still had some concerns about the pair’s dynamic in the public eye.
“I want you to know that I don’t entirely know why, but I feel invested in you and Ben, and I really want this to work,” Fonda said. “However, this is my concern. Like, it feels too much like you’re trying to prove something instead of just living it.”
Fonda, who starred alongside Lopez in the 2005 romcom Monster-in-Law, then specified her concerns about the couple being so affectionate in public. “You know, every other photograph is the two of you kissing and the two of you hugging,” she said.
However, the 54-year-old singer didn’t take her friend’s remark to heart, as she simply responded: “That’s just us living our life.”
Throughout their relationship, Affleck and Lopez, who got married in 2022, have been hit with online scrutiny for their public displays of affection. For example, the pair sparked a debate about PDA on social media in July 2022 when they were photographed kissing at a restaurant in Paris, with their children.
During the dinner, Affleck’s 18-year-old daughter Violet, who he shares with ex Jennifer Garner, was there, and so were Lopez’s 15-year-old twins, Emme and Max, whom she shares with ex Marc Anthony. In addition to Violet, Affleck also shares 15-year-old daughter, Seraphina, and 11-year-old son, Samuel, with Garner.
In The Greatest Love Story Never Told, Fonda also shared another worry that Affleck’s fans continue to have about him: His sad facial expressions. She then described her reaction to his viral attendance at the 2023 Grammys, where he appeared to look sad and bored.
“I got real scared, you know, with all that s*** about the Grammys, and he looks unhappy, and I’m like, ‘Oh, my God, what’s happening?’” the Barberella star said.
Lopez assured Fonda that her husband was doing fine, responding: “Nothing! He was like, ‘I’ve become the symbol of the beleaguered man.’”
According to Variety, Fonda had her concerns about appearing in Lopez’s documentary at first. With that in mind, she decided to speak to Benny Medina, Lopez’s long-time manager.
“I believe that everyone in the entire world is pulling for this relationship and this love. And the idea of how you present that is so sacrosanct, so important,” Fonda told Medina. “It should be handled in a way that you aren’t overly flaunting it, so much so that it creates any form of criticism or resentment.”
Back in 2002, Affleck and Lopez first started their relationship, before getting engaged that same year. While they initially postponed their wedding to September 2003, they ultimately ended up breaking up days before the nuptials. However, over a decade later, they revealed that they rekindled their romance, bringing the relationship of the beloved couple, often referred to as “Bennifer”, back to life.
Speaking to Variety, the Hustlers star spoke candidly about her and her now-husband’s decision to split in the early 2000s.
“Our relationship crumbled under the weight of the pressure,” she said. “We lost a sense of ourselves, and we needed to separate because we didn’t know how to survive it. I had to figure myself out, and he had to figure himself out.”
