Ben Affleck blamed first breakup with Jennifer Lopez on ‘public scrutiny’

Ben Affleck got brutally honest about his relationship with Jennifer Lopez, just months before the recent rumors of marital troubles emerged.

In Lopez's new documentary, The Greatest Love Story Never Told, the 51-year-old actor detailed the adjustments he made to avoid the pitfalls they faced in the early 2000s.

“When Jen and I broke up before, the catalyst for that was the amount of scrutiny around our private life,” he reflected, adding that, “I had a very firm sense of boundaries, initially, around the press.”

The Good Will Hunting star then blamed media pressure for their 2004 split and wanted to approach their rekindled romance differently in 2021.

“Getting back together, I said, ‘Listen, one of the things I don’t want is a relationship on social media,’” he shared. “And then I sort of realised it’s not a fair thing to ask. It’s sort of like you’re gonna marry a boat captain and [say] like, ‘Well, I don’t like the water.’”

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

The Oscar-winner also shared his initial hesitations about participating in Lopez’s film, This Is Me…Now: A Love Story. Ultimately, he appreciated the project, stating, “The movie wasn’t about me. It was about the ability to love yourself. And that love story is a lot f***ing harder to find than Prince Charming.”

This candid discussion resurfaced amid reports that Affleck and Lopez are headed for divorce. Per Page Six, speculation intensified after Lopez "liked" an Instagram post highlighting traits of an unhealthy relationship and Affleck's absence from the 2024 Met Gala, which Lopez co-chaired.