Ben Affleck revealed that he initially asked his wife Jennifer Lopez to keep their rekindled romance offline after they got back together in 2021.
During their reconciliation, 20 years after their first engagement, the two-time Oscar winner, 51, admitted he had no interest in becoming a fixture on his 54-year-old wife’s social media accounts.
In his wife’s new Amazon Prime documentary, The Greatest Love Story Never Told, the Gone Girl star explained his anguish over Lopez sharing photos of them along with her more than 253 million followers.
“When I got back together, I said, ‘Listen, one of the things I don’t want is a social media relationship,’” the actor recalled. ‘Then I realized it’s not fair to ask that. It’s like, you get married to a boat captain and you say, ‘Well, I don’t like the water.’
Ben Affleck revealed he initially asked his wife Jennifer Lopez to keep their rekindled romance offline after they got back together in 2021 (pictured in March 2023)
He continued, “We’re just two people with different approaches trying to make compromises.”
Ultimately, Lopez respected his wishes and only posted a handful of photos of him, including a raunchy shirtless photo last Father’s Day and a sweet video of them singing Sam Cooke’s (What A) Wonderful World in the car on his birthday.
During the documentary, the mother of two acknowledged Affleck’s discomfort with being in the spotlight as a couple after they faced intense media scrutiny when they first dated between 2002 and 2004.
“I don’t think (Ben) is very comfortable with me doing any of this,” she said. “But he loves me, he knows I’m an artist, and he’ll support me in any way he can, because he knows you can’t stop me from making the music I’ve made… he doesn’t want me to prevent. But that doesn’t mean he feels comfortable as a muse.’
The Let’s Get Loud hitmaker then shared the incredibly romantic gift her husband gave her for their first Christmas back together.
She said Affleck had made a book of every letter and email they had ever exchanged in 20 years, titled The Greatest Love Story Never Told.
In December, she admitted that they “both have PTSD” from the bright spotlight of their first romance.
After their broken engagement, they both went on to get married and divorce other people before eventually ending up back in each other’s arms.
During their reconciliation, 20 years after their first engagement, the two-time Oscar winner, 51, admitted he had no interest in becoming a fixture on his 54-year-old wife’s social media accounts.
In his wife’s new Amazon Prime documentary, The Greatest Love Story Never Told, the Gone Girl star explained his anguish over Lopez sharing photos of them together with her more than 253 million Instagram followers
“When I got back together, I said, ‘Listen, one of the things I don’t want is a social media relationship,’” the actor recalled. ‘Then I realized it’s not fair to ask that. It’s like, you get married to a boat captain and you say, ‘Well, I don’t like the water.’
She shared that “we both have PTSD” from their first experience, but explained that in their current lives as a married couple, they are “older” and “wiser.”
J-Lo added, “We also know what’s important, what’s really important in life, and it’s not so much what other people think. It’s about being true to who you are.’
Jennifer and Ben first became a couple on the set of Gigli and began a relationship that became a point of interest.
Their high-profile public appearances, accompanied by Gigli’s box office disaster, were a constant topic of conversation.
Jennifer added fuel to the fire with the release of This Is Me… Then, which was dedicated to her boyfriend and featured songs about him, including Dear Ben.
“Bennifer” became a lightning rod of admiration and then ridicule, including a memorably acidic parody of it in an episode of South Park.
Ultimately, Lopez respected his wishes and only posted a handful of photos of him, including a raunchy shirtless photo last Father’s Day and a sweet video of them singing Sam Cooke’s (What A) Wonderful World in the car on his birthday
During the documentary, the mother of two acknowledged Affleck’s discomfort with being in the spotlight as a couple after they faced intense media scrutiny when they first dated between 2002 and 2004.
“I don’t think (Ben) is very comfortable with me doing any of this,” she said. “But he loves me, he knows I’m an artist, and he’ll support me in any way he can, because he knows you can’t stop me from making the music I’ve made… he doesn’t want me to prevent. But that doesn’t mean he feels comfortable as a muse.”
Trey Parker, co-creator of the cartoon, later claimed that he heard gossip that the production assistants began quoting the parody on the set of one of J-Lo’s films.
“She got so angry and had to fire people,” claimed Trey, who is also one of the voice stars on the show. “But she kept hearing it in the distance.”
The couple became engaged in late 2002, but broke off the engagement in late 2003 before ending their relationship completely in 2004.
In the intervening years, Jennifer married and divorced her third ex-husband Marc Anthony, with whom she welcomed her 15-year-old twins Max and Emme.
Meanwhile, Ben married and divorced Jennifer Garner, with whom he amicably raised three children: Violet, 18, Seraphina, 14, and Samuel, 11.