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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.
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
