Jennifer Lopez might be excitedly awaiting the release of her film This Is Me… Now: A Love Story, but behind closed doors, husband Ben Affleck is said to be “tearing his hair out” over fears it could make him a laughing stock.
It’s been 21 years since the couple first began dating and Jennifer released This Is Me… Then, the album inspired by their blossoming relationship. Now, after Jennifer, 54, and Ben, 51, reunited and finally made it down the aisle in 2022, Jenny from the Block is reintroducing fans to their romance with new album This Is Me… Now. Not only will the record feature all-new songs, but the accompanying musical movie will arrive on Prime Video on 16 February, in which Jen stars as a fictionalised version of herself. The film is billed as coming from the “heart and soul” of the four-times-married singer, and the trailer sees her “character” call herself a “hopeless romantic” as we watch her get hitched multiple times.
Making a very brief appearance in the trailer is Ben, who also serves as a co-writer on the film. While the extent of his on-screen role is unclear, we’re told making the of it, but the question is whether that will come across and land with the audience or if it’ll just seem embarrassing. Because, as much as she’s trying to be funny, the truth is she does take herself incredibly seriously and that’s not easy to disguise.”
While Jennifer is said to be certain that the movie – which boasts Sofia Vergara, Post Malone, Keke Palmer, Trevor Noah, and Jay Shetty among the star-studded cast – will “go down in history as a groundbreaking film”, others are less convinced. When the trailer dropped in mid-January, viewers were left baffled. “I’ve never been so confused after a two-minute trailer”, one wrote on X, while another joked, “Nothing says ‘I’m married to an A-list filmmaker’ more than the two mins and 15 secs I just watched”.
And it seems Ben is concerned about how this will reflect on not just Jennifer, but him, too – and it’s causing tension at home. “There is a very real risk this film will not get the reaction she’s expecting,” the insider says.
“Ben’s been complaining to friends this could end up being Gigli 2.0, which will be especially embarrassing for him considering the career he’s built up and how seriously he takes his projects. He’s scared he’s made a big mistake getting involved.”
Ben and Jennifer met on the set of Gigli. The derided gangster romcom was branded the “worst movie of the century” by The Wall Street Journal, and swept the board at the Golden Raspberries, the awards “celebrating” the very worst in Hollywood film.
Jennifer and Ben’s relationship at the time was the subject of intense media attention. So much so, Jennifer went on to credit the intrusion with their split in 2004 – and in an interview last year claimed she and Ben “both have PTSD” from the experience. As a result, she was reluctant to shine the spotlight on them once again, but decided in the end it would be OK.
“We’re wiser. We also know what’s important, what’s really important in life, and it’s not so much what other people think,” she said.
“It’s about being true to who you are.”