Breaking Down Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck’s Biggest Differences: What They’ve Said, Done and More

Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck might not have a lot of similarities on paper, but they’ve embraced their differences over the years.

The couple began their whirlwind romance in the early 2000s. Shortly before they were getting ready to walk down the aisle in September 2003, Lopez and Affleck called off their nuptials. They announced their breakup four months later.

Jeep Wagoneer S

Sponsored

Learn More

Years passed and both Affleck and Lopez moved on to start their families with other partners. Affleck was married to Jennifer Garner from 2005 to 2015 and share three children: Violet, Seraphina and Samuel. Lopez, for her part, wed Marc Anthony in 2004 and welcomed twins Max and Emme in 2007. The pair separated in 2011 and finalized their divorce three years later.

In May 2021, Affleck and Lopez reconnected and rekindled their romance nearly two decades after their split. They got engaged in April 2022, and secretly tied the knot in Las Vegas three months later.

Two years later, Affleck and Lopez have hit a bump in their relationship. A source exclusively told Us Weekly in May 2024 that the twosome were “having issues in their marriage.” Affleck moved out of his and Lopez’s home and relocated to a rental.

Keep scrolling for a breakdown of the biggest differences between Affleck and Lopez, and what they’ve said about them over the years:

Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck.

Their Relationship History

While Affleck and Lopez ultimately found their way back to each other, their journey took a roundabout path. Before he married Lopez, Affleck had only tied the knot with Garner.

In addition to her marriage to Anthony, Lopez has had several high-profile marriages and engagements. She wed Cuban chef Ojani Noar in 1997 before they split the following year. Lopez was also married to dancer Cris Judd from September 2001 to June 2002. Lopez got engaged to MLB star Alex Rodriguez in 2019 before the exes called off their nuptials in 2021.

Their Career Goals and Work Conflicts

As A-List stars, both Affleck and Lopez have demanding schedules — with different priorities — when it comes to their careers.

Affleck, for his part, sticks to movies as an actor, director, and producer. Lopez, meanwhile, is famously a multi-hyphenate: a singer, actress, dancer, producer and mogul with multiple brand extensions in fashion, beverages, cosmetics and more.

A source told Us in May 2024 that both Lopez and Affleck “have demanding careers that often require them to be in different cities,” which has “highlighted the emotional and physical distance between them.”

Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez. Arturo Holmes/Getty Images

Sharing Their Love Story With Fans

One major difference between Affleck and Lopez is where they stand on opening up about their romance. While Lopez has been candid about how their love is an inspiration for her music and artistry, Affleck prefers to keep the special moments for himself.

In Lopez’s documentary, The Greatest Love Story Never Told, the singer revealed that she showed everyone in the studio a book full of letters Affleck wrote and gave to her when they first reunited. In the Amazon Prime doc, Affleck confessed that he saw the “irony” in the choice of calling the project “the greatest love story never told.”

“Jen was really inspired by this experience which is how artists do their work. They get inspired by their personal life, it moves you. I know as a writer and director, I certainly do the same things,” he said. “But things that are private, I’d always felt, are sacred and special, because, in part, they’re private. So this was something of an adjustment for me.”

Lopez acknowledged that she realizes Affleck isn’t “very comfortable” with her being candid about their romance, but she appreciated him being supportive of her decision.

“But he loves me, he knows I’m an artist,” she reflected. “He’s going to support me in every way he can because he knows he can’t stop me from making the music I made and writing the words that I wrote. That’s going to happen and he doesn’t want to stop me.”

Handling the Attention

After their first breakup in 2003, Affleck admitted that he thought they were too open about their relationship with the press.

“I think Jen and I made a mistake in that we fell in love, we were excited and maybe too accessible,” the actor said during an interview on the British TV series Live in 2008. “I don’t think either of us anticipated the degree to which it would take on a world of its own.”

When the pair reconnected in 2022, Affleck said he wanted to handle their romance differently this time around.

“I had a very firm sense of boundaries initially, around the press, while Jen, I don’t think objected to it in the way I did. I did very much object to it,” he admitted in The Greatest Love Story Never Told. “Getting back together, I said, ‘Listen, one of the things I don’t want is a relationship on social media.’ And then I realized it’s not a very fair thing to ask.”