That’s exactly what Ben Affleck did during a surprisingly frank interview with GQ for the magazine’s April cover story. The actor was candid about all facets of his life. In particular, he addressed his highly publicised divorce with Jennifer Lopez, a topic that has drawn scandalous media interest. Affleck has described his divorce as “extremely grown up.” He wanted to make sure that, as opposed to what the media would have you to believe, his life is a lot less exciting than it is.
Jennifer Lopez Affleck appears in his wife Jennifer Lopez’s upcoming Netflix documentary, The Greatest Love Story Never Told, out in 2024. In it, he offered deep glimpses into their dynamic. He praised Lopez as a counter example and noted the contrasting ways they respond to the public focus. He explained that López balances celebrity life well, but in some instances failed to facilitate that side of celebrity life. Affleck admitted that what was wrong with their marriage came off more like a “Scarsdale couple’s therapy session” than anything meaningful.
The actor opened up about his co-parenting relationship with ex-wife Jennifer Garner. Together, they are the parents of Violet, 19, Seraphina, 16, and Samuel, 13. Affleck gave a candid interview about the need for the two to continue a peaceful bond with each other for their kids. He conveyed his love and appreciation for Lopez and Garner, making it clear that respect for them as human beings was at the core of everything he said.
"I hope I was clear that really this is somebody I have a lot of respect for."
Because this was Ben Affleck, even his amicable separation from Lopez in August 2024 after two years of marriage received extreme media scrutiny. He mentioned that people often try to explore the differences in perspective between him and Lopez regarding public and private life. He thinks the reality of their relationship is far less fascinating than the media makes it out to be. In his eyes, the truth is a lot less exciting.
"Like I said, the truth is much more quotidian than probably people would believe or would be interesting."
While making the documentary, Affleck began to process the toll that all the turmoil had taken on their relationship. He used the analogy that if you marry a ship captain, you have to recognize what’s expected of that type of person. This analogy was a great reminder of the need to identify and take ownership of whatever you are committing to – a key ingredient to any successful relationship. He stressed that just watching this documentary is not going to show you the layers of their problems.
"It's not like you can watch that documentary and go, 'Oh, now I understand the issues that these two had.'"
Affleck responded to the perception that his life after the divorce has been one long drama. Even though that may sound like the dramatic life of a man under siege, far from it, he insists. He admitted that to outsiders, divorce might seem like a big mess. Surprisingly, everyone involved so far has handled it with a great deal of maturity.
"But all of this is pretty adult, and for all the sensational stuff that gets written, if somebody sat down and talked to me about it, and I said, 'Well, this is really the experience,' their eyes would glaze over with boredom."
