Ben Affleck finally breaks silence over ‘vulnerable’ and ’embarrassing’ divorce from Jennifer Lopez

The couple – once dubbed “Bennifer” during their high-profile engagement in the early 2000s – rekindled their relationship nearly two decades later and married in July 2022.

But by April 2024, Lopez marked that month as the date of separation in divorce papers.

Lopez filed for divorce in August. Credit: Christopher Polk / Getty

Lopez previously addressed the emotional impact of the breakup during a candid interview with Nikki Glaser in Interview magazine, published in October.

Reflecting on the summer she spent mostly apart from Affleck, she admitted: “It was like my whole f***ing world exploded.”

“There’s times when I thought I figured it out, and then life goes, ‘Let’s send you another thing and see if you fall for it. Let’s see if you really have learned that lesson.’ And I hadn’t,” the ‘Let’s Get Loud’ singer said. “You’re standing there in the rubble going, ‘How do I not ever let that happen again?’”

During his interview, the Good Will Hunting star also addressed his participation in their 2024 documentary, The Greatest Love Story Never Told, which chronicled aspects of their marriage. “Part of it was, ‘Okay, if I’m going to participate in this, I want to try to do it in an honest way and in a way that’s interesting.’ Because I thought it was an interesting examination,” he said.

Affleck says there is no “soap opera” around his split from Lopez. Credit: Jon Kopaloff / Getty

Still, he was firm that the film wasn’t to blame for their split. “It’s not like you can watch that documentary and go, ‘Oh, now I understand the issues that these two had,'” he said.

Lopez, for her part, used her interview to explore what she learned from the breakup.

“You have to be complete, if you want something that’s more complete. You have to be good on your own. I thought I learned that, but I didn’t. And then, this summer, I had to be like, ‘I need to go off and be on my own. I want to prove to myself that I can do that,’” she told Glazer.

“It feels lonely, unfamiliar, scary. It feels sad. It feels desperate,” Lopez admitted. “But when you sit in those feelings and go, ‘These things are not going to kill me,’ it’s like actually, I am capable of joy and happiness all by myself.”

Affleck also spoke respectfully about their differences, particularly around public life.

“My temperament is to be a little bit more reserved and private than hers,” he said. “I get wanting to divine or explore the kind of differences in perspective that we have in terms of how a person feels comfortable approaching the line between public and private life. But I really hope that whatever you use doesn’t suggest that I have any negativity or judgment or anything regarding that. I have nothing but respect.”

Lopez echoed that sentiment, adding that despite everything, she has no regrets. “That doesn’t mean it didn’t almost take me out for good,” he added. “It almost did. But now, on the other side of it, I think to myself, ‘F**k, that is exactly what I needed. Thank you, god.’”

Lopez cited “irreconcilable differences” as the reason for the split. Credit: MEGA/GC Images/Getty

“I finally got it!” she said. “And by the way, that doesn’t mean I have everything figured out. Now I’m excited, when you say you’re just going to be on your own. Yes, I’m not looking for anybody… Being in a relationship doesn’t define me.”