‘This is just sort of embarrassing’: Ben Affleck reveals ‘the truth’ about JLo divorce

Ben Affleck promises there was no “big event” that inspired his split from actress, singer, and global phenomenon Jennifer Lopez.

In conversation with GQ, the Gone Girl star opened up about the end of his marriage, revealing that no one thing led the pair to call it quits. “There’s no scandal, no soap opera, no intrigue,” he told the publication. “The truth is, when you talk to somebody, ‘Hey, what happened?’ Well, there is no: ‘This is what happened.’ It’s just a story about people trying to figure out their lives and relationships in ways that we all sort of normally do.”

Affleck and Lopez originally met in 2002 while filming dire rom-com Gigli, a certified flop that is somehow faring better than Rachel Zegler’s Snow White (ouch). They were together for two years before announcing their split in 2004. This pattern reemerged when the couple shocked everyone with a surprise reunion in 2021, a wedding in 2022, and then ultimately the divorce announcement in 2024. JLo is the one who filed, sans lawyer, and per TMZ, the couple did not sign a pre-nuptial agreement. Lopez reportedly waived spousal support and requested that Affleck be denied it as well. TMZ also reported that the pair was not speaking to each other at the time of the filing.

Digging deeper into why they broke up, Affleck insisted that many people would find the reasons “boring.” “It sounds more like a couple’s therapy session, which — you would tune out of someone else’s couple’s therapy after a while,” he told GQ. “For one thing, you start going, ‘Okay, clearly this person has got these issues. Clearly they have these issues.’ And the reason I don’t want to share that is just sort of embarrassing. It feels vulnerable.”

It’s honestly no surprise that Affleck and Lopez weren’t able to make the relationship work a second time, and not for lack of trying. As two of the biggest celebrities on the planet, they’ve each been incredibly busy in recent years. In addition to appearing in Lopez’s This is Me…Now and The Accountant 2, Affleck has been busy starring in Dunkin’ commercials and filling his producing portfolio with projects like upcoming drug crime drama RIP alongside Hollywood pal Matt Damon. Lopez, meanwhile, has been producing and starring in projects of her own, including upcoming movie musical Kiss of the Spider Woman, which received a standing ovation at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival. Lopez, who decided to cancel her 2024 tour so she could spend more time with her family, says she’s been waiting for this moment “her entire life.”

“When you talk about the importance of musicals, the reason that I even wanted to be in this business was because my mom would sit me in front of the TV, it would come on once a year: ‘West Side Story’ on Thanksgiving,” she said at the festival. “I was just mesmerized, and I was like, ‘That’s what I want to do.’ That was always my goal, and this is the first time I actually got to do it. So it’s a big deal.”

Only time will tell if Lopez and Affleck will find their way back to mutual civility in the future. For Affleck’s part, he maintains that he does not judge Lopez for how she lives her life, publicly or otherwise. “I guess there’s a tendency to look at breakups and want to identify root causes or something. But honestly, like I said, the truth is much more quotidian than probably people would believe or would be interesting.” He added that he has “nothing but respect” for Lopez.