EXCLUSIVE: Ben Affleck’s ‘final act of compassion’ to Jennifer Lopez revealed: Friends say he ‘took the high road’ after singer suffered string of personal and professional humiliations
After months of exhausting leaks and counter attacks from their respective camps, Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck are officially over – again.
But if you’d thought Lopez’s decision to finally file for divorce on Tuesday would bring an end to this petty briefing war, then think again.
Now, it would seem, all bets are off – with each side blaming the other for the collapse of the two-year marriage.
The latest sensational revelation comes from a friend of the former couple who claims that Affleck allowed Lopez to make the final move in an act of ‘compassion’ towards his estranged wife.
‘Ben knew Jennifer was going to file for divorce. It was not a shocker to him at all. In fact, he let her have this,’ the friend exclusively told the Mail.
In fact, it was an act of generosity says the friend, who added that ‘Jennifer was more concerned about how [the split] will affect her career, what fans will think and what the press will write.’
Lopez has faced multiple professional and personal calamities this year.
Her first studio album in a decade, ‘This Is Me… Now’, entered at No.38 on the Billboard 200 chart before disappearing into irrelevance.
An accompanying musical film by the same title was roundly panned by critics – as was her documentary for Amazon Prime, ‘The Greatest Love Story Never Told’, about her romance with Affleck.
Meanwhile in May, as rumors swirled about the strength of the 55-year-old’s marriage, her planned 30-date arena tour was canceled, with some reports suggesting she’d struggled to fill seats.
At the same time, major makeup retailer Sephora has told the singer her brand, ‘JLo Beauty’, must be gone from its stores by the end of the year, after poor sales results. And Lopez’s recent movie ‘Atlas’ currently has a dismal 19 percent rating on review site Rotten Tomatoes.
The couple initially discussed joint filing,’ the insider told the Mail. ‘But seeing all the backlash and hate Jennifer was already getting from the documentary, movie, album, and tour, Ben took the high road and let her file for divorce so it didn’t look like it was her fault that things hadn’t worked out. It was his last act of compassion he has for her.’
Certainly, the insider paints a sympathetic view of Affleck.
And while some have been quick to blame the split on JLo’s apparent obsession with stardom – and its incompatibility with Affleck’s want for a more private life – not everyone agrees.
On Wednesday, another insider told the Mail: ‘[Ben] was impossible to be married to. Friends think he is selfish, sullen, impossible to please most of the time and negative.’
‘[JLo] was constantly trying to lift his spirits, boost him up – it was exhausting,’ they added. ‘He is a loudmouth, loves to hear himself talk and blusters on. She was a great audience, mostly she hung onto his every word, but she is not as young and impressionable as she used to be.’
Lopez found the many months of speculation about their relationship to be ‘personally humiliating’, and eventually felt she had no choice but to acknowledge that they were through.
Affleck has long struggled with addiction, with some friends confiding to the Mail in June about fears he may even be drinking again.
After swiftly rekindling their relationship in 2022, JLo and Affleck married in Vegas in the July and bought a $60 million home in Beverly Hills, moving in with their respective children.
Rumors of trouble in paradise began to swirl this Spring.
In May, Affleck moved out of the marital home and into a $100,000-a-month rental in Brentwood. The pair then listed their Beverly Hills mansion, and Affleck bought a new house in LA for $20.5 million on Lopez’s birthday, at which he was a no-show.
JLo’s divorce papers – which she filed in LA without an attorney – show the couple have been living apart since April.
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