Ben Affleck's Friend Spills Inside Details on Marital Strife With Jennifer Lopez

An insider said that Affleck is participating in marriage counseling, but he doesn't expect it to be a solution all on its own.

By Michael Hein

Ben Affleck is not feeling particularly hopeful about marriage counseling, according to an anonymous source who spoke to InTouch Weekly on Wednesday. The unnamed friend claimed that Affleck is participating in therapy "with an extremely heavy heart," but is not expecting it to be the singular solution to his issues with Jennifer Lopez. So far, Affleck and Lopez have not commented publicly on widespread speculation about their marital woes.

The source for this report notes that they have known Affleck for "more than ten years" and said: "Ben believes in therapy, to a point, and is willing to be a good sport about participating with an open mind, even though he hates the whole humiliating process. He's never going to gauge the success of this marriage by what happens in the therapist's office. He also has a higher tolerance for conflict and having to fight to get his way than the average guy." They said that "everything is a fight" for Affleck and Lopez.

"The only satisfaction he gets in life is overcoming when the odds are stacked against him," they went on. "Now that they're reunited, the ego battle between Ben and Jennifer was always on full display and is only eclipsed by the obvious passion and respect they have for one another. But there has to be an easier path and you have to ask why they want their marriage to be this way in the first place?"

Affleck and Lopez were a celebrity power couple from 2001 to 2004, when they broke their engagement shortly after the planned wedding date. In the years after, they both indicated that one of their biggest issues was the media attention and fan interest in their relationship. Since reuniting in 2021, they have indicated that those issues are still present – especially since with advent of social media. In Lopez's Prime Video documentary The Greatest Love Story Never Told, Affleck said that they were learning to "compromise" on their approach to publicity.

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Fans began to speculate about Lopez and Affleck earlier this month when Affleck did not accompany his wife to the 2024 Met Gala – though he was reportedly busy filming The Accountant 2 at the time. Since then, TMZ published photos of Affleck out and about without his wedding ring, and a source told Us Weekly that Affleck has moved out of their marital home. According to a report by PEOPLE, the couple also did not celebrate Mother's Day together last week.

Still, Affleck and Lopez have not commented publicly on these reports, including the claims that they are "headed for divorce." Fans continue to speculate on social media.

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