Ben Affleck Was ‘Elated’ When Another Celebrity Couple Took the Attention Away From Him and Jennifer Lopez

When Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck began dating, they attracted a flurry of media attention. They acted in films together and were constantly on the cover of tabloid magazines. While this was not exactly unfamiliar to them — both were famous before they started dating — their relationship brought them new levels of fury. Affleck said he was happy when another celebrity couple took attention away from them.

Ben Affleck didn’t enjoy the media attention on himself and Jennifer Lopez

Affleck and Lopez went public with their relationship in 2003. They were both big stars at the time, and ignited a media storm. They both agreed that the level of attention on them was “a strange thing.”

“I don’t know what’s the fascination. It seems strange to me,” Affleck told Access Hollywood, adding, “I don’t know what to tell you. I think you can really make yourself crazy if you start thinking about who is paying attention to me, who is interested in me.”

Affleck was grateful, then, when another celebrity couple took attention away from his relationship. Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher’s 15-year age gap immediately made headlines when they went public with their relationship.

“[I was] elated. I tried to drum that up,” he said. “I’m constantly calling the tabloids, like have you guys heard about Kirk Douglas and Mandy Moore? You know I sort of anticipated that, like, there would be a certain amount of attention this would get and then something else would come along that would be more tabloid fodder.”

Jennifer Lopez said media scrutiny led to her break up with Ben Affleck

Unfortunately, the media scrutiny on the couple began to put a strain on their relationship. With the increase in attention came an increase in cruelty.

“We were so young and so in love at that time, really very carefree, with no kids, no attachments. And we were just living our lives, being happy and out there,” Lopez told Vogue. “It didn’t feel like we needed to hide from anybody or be real discreet. We were just living out loud, and it turned out to really bite us. There was a lot underneath the surface there, people not wanting us to be together, people thinking I wasn’t the right person for him.”

In 2003, the couple postponed their engagement, citing the media attention around their wedding. Not long after, they announced they had broken up.

She spoke about the way media attention still impacts her life

Lopez and Affleck reunited in 2021 and married in 2022. The attention surrounding them still exists, but Lopez said it affects more than just her relationship with him.

“The other day, one of my kids said, ‘I want to go to the flea market.’ I was like, ‘Oh, you want me and Ben to come?’ They said, ‘You know, it’s such a thing when you go, Mom,’” she said. “It hurt my feelings. I get it. They want time with their friends when they aren’t being watched and followed and photographed. It’s a thing. Nobody’s complaining, but it’s a thing.”