Sources say Ben Affleck was actually the brains behind Jennifer Lopez’s recent documentary that laid bare intimate details of the couple’s love story before the Bronx native filed for divorce last week on the couple’s second anniversary.
Despite his reputation for being notoriously private, the Oscar winner, 52, “was the one who had control, pretty much,” an insider told People about Amazon Prime Video’s “The Greatest Love Story Never Told.”
Affleck “not only supported that life [in the public eye], he encouraged it. It was almost like he’s justifying it. The need for the documentary was his idea,” the source said.
The film may have made it look as though Affleck “was hesitant and almost surprised by it,” but the source insists “that was a false narrative.”
Rather, the “Argo” filmmaker “definitely took it away from the director so he could have the narrative he wanted out there.”
According to the source, the “Gone Girl” star “was very much in favor” of the documentary — which dropped in February and focused on both the relationship and the making of Lopez’s self-financed “This Is Me…Now: A Love Story” film. The latter was itself a companion piece to Lopez’s new Affleck-centric album, “This Is Me… Now.” The tour for that album was also canceled this spring amid rampant split speculation.
Another source claims the Bronx-born “Hustlers” star was less enthusiastic about the doc, in which she reveals she saved all the love letters written to her by Affleck, excerpts of which she shares not just with her team in the film but the viewer. That move, at least on screen, rubbed Affleck the wrong way.
“Jennifer’s team didn’t want to do it since she was focused on the album and Amazon original video project,” said that insider.
Affleck has long been known for wanting to keep his cards close to the chest.
In a recent interview, he referred to the “Love Don’t Cost a Thing” singer’s level of celebrity as “f–king bananas,” especially when compared with his own, which he doesn’t “mind” enduring until it involves the three kids he shares with ex-wife Jennifer Garner.
In July, a source told People the issues between Lopez and Affleck, who were reportedly living apart at the time and trying to sell their $60 million marital mansion, ran “deeper” than their different approaches to fame.
“The idea that Ben thinks Jennifer is too famous and that he didn’t know what he was getting into with the attention onto their marriage isn’t true,” the source said at the time.
Affleck also is not known to have an Instagram account. Both Lopez and Garner are very active on their own pages: Lopez boasts 251 million followers and Garner, 52, has 16 million.
Lopez filed for divorce pro per — without an attorney — from Affleck on Aug. 20, the second anniversary of their Georgia nuptials, after they eloped in Las Vegas the month prior.
They were engaged in the early 2000s, after which Lopez married Marc Anthony and Affleck wed Garner. They ultimately reconciled in 2021.
