Why Jennifer Lopez Felt Her Healthy Relationship With Ben Affleck Was More Challenging
Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck’s relationship went much further in the 2020s than it did when they first became a couple. But Lopez asserted that didn’t make things any easier between them.
Jennifer Lopez once shared what was different about her and Ben Affleck’s relationship now
Lopez and Affleck both felt that they were in better places emotionally after rekindling their romance. When they were first together, the media attention their relationship caused made being together difficult. But the pair seemed to feel that they partially helped invite the criticisms they experienced. Although they didn’t want the attention, Lopez felt some of their actions helped encourage it. And it was a mistake neither of them thought they’d repeat in their older, more mature years.
“Before we kind of put [our relationship] out there and we were naïve and it got a little trampled,” Lopez said in a 2022 interview with People. “We both were like, ‘Wow, we’re so happy and we don’t want any of that to come into play again.’ We’re older now, we’re smarter, we have more experience, we’re at different places in our lives, we have kids now, and we have to be very conscious of those things. We’re so protective because it is such a beautiful time for all of us.”
This mentality seemed to work for a while. Lopez and Affleck actually ended up marrying each other this time, honoring the vows they made decades ago. They got married at Las Vegas after a year of dating before having another official ceremony at Affleck’s Georgia home.
At the time, Lopez felt so complete thanks to her relationship with Affleck that she considered it new territory for her. Adapting to the security that her romance with Affleck offered her prove to be challenging than she might’ve thought it would be.
“It’s funny,” she once told Variety. “It’s like, ‘OK, so now I’m in a healthier, more loving, good relationship. I’ve gotten to this place where I feel more whole, to be more present in a relationship. But what is that like? I get to live that, and that’s even more challenging than the last 20 years.”
Why might Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez be breaking up now?
When the two first broke up, Affleck partially blamed the media scrutiny he and Lopez had to constantly endure.
“I would say [media attention] was about 50 percent [of what destroyed our relationship]. The idea that people hate you and they hate you together and that being together is poison and ugly and toxic and the thing none of us want to be part of,” Affleck said on The Howard Stern Show (via Grazia) not too long ago. “And, ‘Who the f*** would want to have them to dinner?’ And, ‘What the f*** are they doing together?’”
Neither Lopez and Affleck didn’t seem to think that would be an issue during the second phase of their relationship. Still, there have been rumors circulating since earlier this year that the two are headed for another break-up. Clues like Lopez and Affleck spending their wedding anniversaries apart, and Affleck moving out of their home, seem to reinforce the theory. Reports have also recently surfaced that the two have a divorce statement planned, and it’s only a matter of time before it’s released.
It’s unclear what might’ve caused their break up this time. But a recent source claimed that Lopez’s recent cocktail line might’ve caused the two to officially part ways. Lopez launched Delola, dedicated to serving its customers spritz drinks, in April 2023. An alleged insider claimed that Affleck felt Lopez’s new business was disrespectful towards his sobriety, which he values after his intense battle with alcoholism.
“Ben had to fight to get his life back after overcoming alcohol. Knowing how he lost everything including the love of his family, knowing that he could possibly relapse, Jen decided to start her own spritzer line for more money, as if she did not have enough. This was one of the things that broke the camel’s back. But Ben saved his sobriety,” the source once claimed according to the Hindustan Times.
Whatever the case, if Lopez and Affleck are headed towards divorce, fans might not know the true reason until an official statement’s been made.
