Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez Shared the Real Reason Why They Broke Up Back in 2003

Three days before they were supposed to exchange their vows, Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck called off their 2003 wedding. The singer and her now-husband discuss how things went wrong only days before their scheduled wedding in their new documentary, The Greatest Love Story Never Told. As reported by EOnline, Lopez said in her documentary, "Ben and I, we broke up three days before our wedding. We had a big wedding planned—14 ushers and bridesmaids—and three days before, we just crumbled under the pressure."

Ben agreed, saying in the Amazon Prime documentary that "the massive amount of scrutiny around our private life" was the cause for the breakup. Lopez while talking about their separation added, "For all those years, it was really hard because I didn't just feel like I lost the love of my life, I felt like I lost the best friend that I ever had. And I couldn't talk for so many years, and that was the hardest part." The Grammy winner continued, acknowledging that she had been angry with Affleck, "But that heartbreak set both of us on a course to figuring ourselves out to being better people."

Lopez attained serenity by pardoning herself and Affleck for their prior transgressions. She said, "I feel like I came out the other side. I've made it through. I've made something good of my life. I'm proud of that." During a dialogue between Affleck and Lopez on screen, the actor notes that, according to the plot of her musical experience, their breakup is what caused her life's suffering. Affleck asked her, "I think for us to move on from that, we have to forgive it, forgive each other. Do you forgive me?" She later added, "Yeah, I think I've forgiven you all the way. I think I need to forgive myself some things." Lopez and Affleck began dating in 2002 and went on to rekindle their romance in 2021 before getting married a year later. They even got engaged. They were dubbed 'Bennifer,' the 'it' pair of the 2000s who were featured in several periodicals and were often the focus of the media. 

Affleck didn't want their romance to unfold in front of curious onlookers when they reconciled. He recalled in the documentary, "Getting back together, I said, ‘Listen, one of the things I don’t want is a relationship on social media’. Then I sort of realized it’s not a fair thing to ask. It’s sort of like, you’re gonna marry a boat captain and you go, ‘Well, I don’t like the water.’" The duo has succeeded in their relationship despite Affleck's concerns; they were engaged in April 2022 and were married in July in Las Vegas. Since then, 54-year-old Lopez has sporadically posted pictures and videos of Affleck on her social media accounts. According to Lopez in the documentary, Affleck gave her a very unusual present on their first Christmas together: a book titled The Greatest Love Story Never Told that included every email and letter they had ever exchanged over two decades.