Matt Damon’s stark warning to Ben Affleck before he married Jennifer Lopez revealed – as he desperately works to stop his best friend from hitting the bottle over looming divorce

Matt Damon warned Ben Affleck about reuniting with former flame Jennifer Lopez before they tied the knot, according to insiders, who claim the actor is desperate to prevent his best friend, and former alcoholic, from relapsing amid mounting speculation about the state of his marriage.

The apparently beleaguered couple first sparked concerns after not being photographed together for more than a month, with subsequent images of Affleck, 51, without his wedding ring and Lopez, 54, taking a solo vacation in Italy, which further fueled speculation.

Damon, 53, has reportedly advised Affleck to “focus on his work” so he doesn’t lose sight of his professional goals amid the alleged turmoil in this two-way marriage.

“Matt tried to warn Ben when he got back together with JLo that this could happen,” an insider told DailyMail.com. “Matt was there to help Ben make it work after their first breakup and he had a feeling this would happen again.”

Affleck has a lot of respect for the opinions of his friends thanks to the fact that Damon has been in a loving marriage with his wife Luciana Barroso for over 18 years.

“Matt has had a successful marriage for years and Ben has always been in awe of that,” they continued.

Damon and Affleck have been friends since childhood and famously wrote the Oscar-winning screenplay for Good Will Hunting. In recent years they founded Artists Equity, a production company.

The source continued, “When things started to fall apart, Matt told Ben that he supports whatever choice he makes, but wants him to jump in and focus on his work.

“Ben spent so much time focusing on JLo’s projects, just like he did the first time. He said to Ben, “What did she ever do for your career?”

“Matt is the only real friend Ben has. He didn’t want him to start using the bottle again and he spoke to him about this to make sure.’

The Last Duel duo will reportedly star in and produce an upcoming thriller titled RIP.

The details of the plot have been kept secret, he said. Deadlinebut the duo are producing through their Artists Equity production company – which they launched in November 2022.

Artists Equity released its first film, Air, about the origins of Air Jordan, in April 2023, which both actors starred in, with Affleck also directing.

In recent months, Affleck and Lopez, who was known as Bennifer when they first dated, have faced rumors of an “impending” divorce.

The speculation has been fueled by the fact that the couple has also been living apart, with Affleck staying in Brentwood in a $100,000-a-month rental home.

It was then revealed that the couple is also trying to quietly offload their $60 million marital home in Beverly Hills after purchasing the property together last year.

Most recently, Lopez was spotted enjoying a solo vacation in Italy after Affleck’s new Airstream camper arrived at his Brentwood residence — hinting at plans for an extended road trip.

The A-list couple were famously engaged in the early 2000s before splitting, but reunited – and later married – in July 2022.

Their first two-year romance was highly publicized and the intense scrutiny of their relationship was difficult for the couple to handle.

Affleck said in her music documentary The Greatest Love Story Never Told: “Ben and I broke up three days before our wedding and we buckled under the pressure. You think you’re doing fine, so you shrug your shoulders.’

The On The Floor singer also spoke candidly about the pain she felt when the relationship ended.

“I was heartbroken when I lost the love of my life, my best friend, and I couldn’t talk for so many years and that was the hardest part,” she said.

“I used to think everyone was broken, now I think it was me.”

During their reconciliation, two-time Oscar winner Affleck admitted that he had no interest in becoming a fixture on his wife’s social media accounts.

“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.’

He continued, “We’re just two people with different approaches trying to learn to compromise.”

Ultimately, Affleck 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 that Affleck was uncomfortable with being in the spotlight.

‘I do not think so [Ben] is very happy that I am doing all 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 to stop me . But that doesn’t mean he enjoys being the muse.’

Elsewhere in the documentary, Hollywood actress and legend Jane Fonda warned Affleck against committing her love story with Affleck to film, expressing serious concerns about the staying power of their bond after two decades apart.

The Oscar winner, who met Lopez about 20 years ago when they filmed the 2005 comedy Monster-in-Law together, said: “First of all, I want you to know that I don’t quite know why, but I feel invested in you. and Ben and I really, really want this to work.

“This is my concern though. Like it feels too much like you’re trying to prove something instead of just living it. Every other picture is the two of you kissing and the two of you cuddling.”

During the years they were separated, Lopez married and divorced her third ex-husband Marc Anthony, with whom she welcomed her 15-year-old twins Max and Emme.

Meanwhile, Affleck married and divorced Jennifer Garner, with whom he amicably raised three children together.

Sources previously revealed to DailyMail.com that Garner’s new partner John Miller has stressed that it is not her responsibility to ‘fix’ her ex-husband’s marriage.

Insiders had revealed that Garner tried to help save the couple, with Lopez confiding in the actress over shared fears that Affleck could relapse.