Jennifer Lopez Said Her Relationship With Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Faced the Same Problems as Her Romance With Ben Affleck

Jennifer Lopez became engaged to Ben Affleck a few years after ending her relationship with Sean “Diddy” Combs. Both of these romances ultimately ended in heartbreak for her. She suspected Diddy of infidelity, which led to their breakup. Still, Lopez said that one of the pressures on her relationship with Diddy was what would eventually lead to her break up with Affleck.

Jennifer Lopez said the scrutiny on her relationship with Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs became too much

When Lopez was in a relationship with Diddy, she said she enjoyed being with someone who understood and respected her career. She admitted her first husband, Ojani Noa, had problems with her career. Diddy was successful in the same industry, though.

“One of the great things about being with who I’m with right now is that he and I do understand each other’s business,” she told W Magazine in 2000. “We’ve both separately built something from nothing. So he is my equal in that sense. It’s hard for me, or any woman in this business, to find somebody who understands what makes me tick.”

Still, the fact that both of them were famous did cause some issues. Lopez said the immense media scrutiny on her relationship began to grate.

“[It’s] definitely taking a toll on me. Because it’s become an invasion,” she said. “At one point, it was so nice that people were interested in us. Now we can’t go out of the house. We have to think things through before we go out together.”

Jennifer Lopez said her relationship with Ben Affleck collapsed for similar reasons

Several years after her break up with Diddy, Lopez and Affleck had a whirlwind — and very public — relationship. As with Diddy, the constant attention began to feel suffocating. In 2003, the couple postponed their wedding, citing the stress of their fame.

“Due to the excessive media attention surrounding our wedding, we have decided to postpone the date. When we found ourselves seriously contemplating hiring three separate ‘decoy brides’ at three different locations, we realized that something was awry,” the couple said in a statement, per Elle. “We began to feel that the spirit of what should have been the happiest day of our lives could be compromised. We felt what should have been a joyful and sacred day could be spoiled for us, our families, and our friends.”

They announced their breakup in early 2004.

Ben Affleck said he valued privacy more than she did

In 2021, Lopez and Affleck reconnected and began their relationship anew. Because of their first split, Affleck wanted to be cautious about what they shared about their relationship. He said he didn’t want to ask Lopez to filter her life, though.

“Getting back together, I said, ‘Listen, one of the things I don’t want is a relationship on social media,” Affleck said, per the Daily Mail. “Then I sort of realized it’s not a fair thing to ask. It’s sort of like, you’re gonna marry a boat captain and you go, ‘Well, I don’t like the water.’ We’re just two people with different kinds of approaches trying to learn to compromise.”

Lopez filed for divorce from Affleck in Aug. 2024.