Ben Affleck’s strict ‘boundaries’ in Jennifer Lopez romance – before she filed for divorce ending months of speculation

Don’t expect Ben Affleck to speak publicly about his divorce from Jennifer Lopez, as he previously revealed that he had set strict ‘boundaries’ when it came to sharing details about his personal life with the world.

News broke on Tuesday that the Jenny From The Block songstress, 55, had filed for divorce from the actor, 52, on Tuesday – two years after they walked down the aisle.

Following official confirmation of the split, comments made by the Batman alum in 2021 about his romance with the singer – and why he was dedicated to keeping it private – have resurfaced.

It’s a topic Jennifer seemed to take an opposite approach on, as she used their relationship as inspiration for her latest album, even going as far as sharing Ben’s personal love letters with her friends.

Back in 2021, a reporter for The Wall Street Journal asked him about his and JLo’s reconciliation, and he quickly shut them down.

He said ‘some things were intimate’ and should not be ‘shared with the rest of the world.’

‘You can write conjecture about it, but one of the harder lessons that I have learned is that it’s not wise to share everything with the world,’ the star said. 

‘There are some things which are private and intimate and have meaning in terms of their intimacy by dint of the fact that they’re not shared with the rest of the world.’

He added that he was ‘just learning to find a boundary between things he wanted to share and things he didn’t.’ 

‘I don’t know if it’s good or bad. I don’t,’ Ben continued. ‘I know that I feel more comfortable having those healthy boundaries in my life around which, in a friendly and straightforward way, I tell you, I just don’t want to be talking about my personal relationship in the newspaper. I’m going to exercise a little restraint.’

Ben said he had been ‘very lucky in his life’ and that he had ‘benefited from second chances.’

He called their love story ‘beautiful,’ adding, ‘It’s a great story. And, you know, maybe one day I’ll tell it. I’ll write it all out. And then I’ll light it on fire.’

JLo and Ben first started dating in 2002 after bonding on set of the film Gigi, and they quickly got engaged.

But they called it quits in 2004, just before they were set to become husband and wife. 

News hit the web that the singer, 55, had filed for divorce from the actor (last seen together in June), 52, on Tuesday – two years after they walked down the aisle together

They both went on to wed other people – she exchanged vows with Mac Anthony in 2004, while he walked down the aisle with Jennifer Garner in 2005 – but after splitting from their respective partners, they eventually got back together. 

They rekindled their love in 2021 and went on to wed in Las Vegas in July 2022.

But now, after months of ongoing rumors that their marriage was ending, Jennifer has filed for divorce.

She listed the date of separation as April 26, 2024, as per legal docs seen by DailyMail.com.

The couple did not sign a prenuptial agreement before tying the knot, insiders have revealed. 

Ben previously spoke about wanting to keep their relationship ‘private’ in JLo’s documentary The Greatest Love Story Never Told.

The film followed the making of her latest album, This Is Me… Now, most of which was inspired by her romance with Ben

During one part of the movie, Ben admitted that he was ‘taken aback’ when he found her musicians rifling through his private love letters which JLo had given them to look at as inspiration for her next album.

The actor had clung onto his correspondence with the singer during his 13-year marriage to Garner – and later had the letters and emails bound into a book to gift her when they reunited in 2021. 

He told the camera: ‘Things that are private I always felt are sacred and special because, in part, they’re private.’

Amid the news, comments made by the Batman alum in 2021 about his romance with the singer – and why he was dedicated to keeping it private – have resurfaced

He said ‘some things were intimate’ and should not be ‘shared with the rest of the world,’ adding, ‘I feel more comfortable having those healthy boundaries in my life’

Rumors first emerged that they were splitting earlier this year after they went over a month without being seen together publicly.

Ben previously spoke about wanting to keep their relationship ‘private’ in JLo’s documentary, after she revealed she showed his love letters (seen) to her musician friends 

It was then reported that they were living in separate homes; and to make matters worse they spent most of the summer on opposite coasts.

Jennifer’s own friends have now suggested the actress needs to ‘look inside herself’ after filing for divorce from Ben, marking her fourth failed marriage.

‘After four failed marriages, her friends feel that she should take a look inside and focus on herself instead of what others want her to be and finally figure out who she is and what she wants from her future,’ an insider told DailyMail.com this week.

They also claimed that she waited until their two-year anniversary to file for divorce because she ‘wanted to sting’ him.

‘But it did not sting him. He’s been done for a long time and deep down she knows this. He let her have this so that she wouldn’t look like the villain,’ the source added.