Jennifer Lopez has been on one hell of a media offensive in the name of love. For the third instalment of her lucrative homage to husband Ben Affleck, the couple have starred in their own documentary, The Greatest Love Story Never Told, which not only delves into their rekindled romance, but also highlights their very different views on privacy.
J-Lo – who has also vocalised her undying love for Oscar-winner Ben on both a new album and musical film – confessed in their latest project, “I don’t think [Ben] is very comfortable with me doing all of this. He loves me, he knows I’m an artist, and he’s gonna support me in every way he can because he knows you can’t stop me from making the music I make… he doesn’t want to stop me. But that doesn’t mean he’s comfortable being the muse.”
And now, after Ben openly admitted he didn’t really “love being in the making-of documentary about my personal life”, an insider tells heat that the couple have devised a five-point plan to help them avoid any more rows.
“They didn’t come into this marriage thinking that it might fail, but there has been a lot more tension than either of them expected,” our source says of the pair, who seem to have faced plenty of ups and downs in their marriage so far.
“There’s no doubt they love each other deeply, but there’s simply no hiding the fact that they’ve got issues. They both really want to get their relationship back on track, so with the help of their counsellor, they’ve come up with this plan, which includes therapy and plenty of space for Ben to try to regain some stability.”
Ben, 51, and J-Lo, 54, gave their love a second shot in 2021, almost 20 years after they started dating for the first time. They famously called off their engagement in early 2004 and went on to start families with other people – J-Lo had twins Max and Emme, 16, with third husband Marc Anthony, and Ben shares Violet, 18, Seraphina, 15, and Samuel, 13, with former wife Jennifer Garner.
After finding their way back to each other, Jen and Ben got their fairy-tale wedding(s) in 2022 – though it’s not been all sunshine and rainbows, as the pair have reportedly been at odds over their public image, with rumours of discontent fuelled by a series of awkward red-carpet appearances. Body language expert Judi James suggested last week that it was obvious Ben “is not a huge fan of being under constant press surveillance”, adding he is “so uncomfortable on camera”.
Meanwhile, J-Lo alleged last year that both she and Ben have PTSD from the public intrusion into their romance first time around. Ben said that making the documentary was an “adjustment”, as he considers private moments to be “sacred and special”. Now, we’re told, this new plan is crucial for them to make their love work second time around.
Our source explains, “Jen’s gotten Ben to commit to two therapy sessions every week. Making time for at least one long weekend away a month together, so they can reconnect, is something else they’ve agreed on. Ben has asked Jen to make more effort with his friends and family, and also feels he needs more autonomy.
When they first reconnected, he’d been so focused on winning her back, when he did start to reassert himself and put up some healthy boundaries, it was a huge shock for her.”
And it would seem that J-Lo is respecting Ben’s space, after she recently took Max and Emme on a birthday trip to Japan without him. But it wasn’t without a trade-off. Our insider says, “Ben’s agreed to work on another big project with her. She’s got all kinds of ideas for follow-ups to the documentary.”
The source adds, “It’s all a work in progress, but they’re both determined to hang onto this marriage and put the effort in.”