Celebrity
Jennifer Lopez reportedly felt responsible for Ben Affleck’s happiness. Here’s how she tried to break through his bad moods.
This month, Jennifer Lopez filed for divorce from Ben Affleck. The couple has been married for two years, and she chose their anniversary as the day to file. This was reportedly not an easy decision for her to make, as she wanted their marriage to work. According to sources close to her, though, the marriage was in a difficult position. Lopez felt responsible for making Affleck happy, which was difficult given his tendency toward moodiness.
Jennifer Lopez felt responsible for Ben Affleck’s happiness
When Lopez and Affleck were still together, she reportedly spent “a lot of time making sure Ben was happy and had everything he needed,” a source close to her told People. She treated him as though he was a child in need of a parent.
“The way she cared for him was almost childlike,” the source said. “Friends constantly reminded her that she’s not responsible for his feelings. He’s very moody and dark at times. Jennifer appreciates life in another way. She’s very grateful for everything.”
He is reportedly upset about the dissolution of his marriage
While Lopez and Affleck reportedly clashed over how they wanted to present their relationship to the public — he wanted privacy while she was more open — a source claimed he was devastated by his impending divorce.
“Jennifer was Ben’s dream woman,” a source claimed, per OK! Magazine. “It was drama all the time. He’s feeling down about it and is upset and depressed it didn’t work out, even though he knows ending it is the right thing to do.”
According to the source, the differences in their lifestyles led to the split. Lopez wanted to make things work, but their values were not aligned.
“She’s tried to make Ben understand that being Jennifer Lopez is a 24/7 job. She is her brand, she lives and breathes it while Ben can leave his work at the door if he chooses to,” the source claimed. “Jennifer’s keeping her head up. She doesn’t want to be seen as the villain.”
Why did Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck break up the first time?
Lopez and Affleck married in 2022, nearly 20 years after they broke up the first time. When they ended their engagement in 2003, they pointed to the relentless attention on them as the reason for their split.
“Ben and I, we broke up three days before our wedding,” Lopez said in The Greatest Love Story Never Told. “We had a big wedding planned — 14 ushers and bridesmaids — and three days before, we just crumbled under the pressure.”
Affleck said the pressure of their fame became too much to bear for the couple.
“I would say [media attention] was about 50 percent [of what destroyed our relationship],” Affleck said, per Entertainment Weekly. “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. And ‘who the f*** would want to have them to dinner?’ And ‘what the f*** are they doing together?’”
