Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck who broke off their engagement in 2003 before rekindling their romance nearly two decades later shared insight into why they called off their first wedding, E! News reports.
The “Jenny from the Block” singer explained, that she experienced years of heartache before rekindling her romance with the Oscar winner, who she was engaged to during the early aughts before their 2003 breakup.
So, what went wrong in their relationship the first time?
“Ben and I, we broke up three days before our wedding,” J.Lo recalled in her new documentary The Greatest Love Story Never Told. “We had a big wedding planned—14 ushers and bridesmaids—and three days before, we just crumbled under the pressure.”
Ben echoed the sentiment, sharing in the Amazon Prime doc that the reason behind the split was “the massive amount of scrutiny around our private life.”
However, Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck agreed that calling off their first wedding led them each on a self-discovery journey, one that eventually helped them cross paths again when they reconciled in 2021. They tied the knot at a Las Vegas ceremony in July 2022, before saying “I do” at a massive wedding in Georgia the following month.
“For all those years, it was really hard because I didn’t just feel like I lost the love of my life, I felt like I lost the best friend that I ever had,” Jennifer remembered of their time apart. “And I couldn’t talk for so many years, and that was the hardest part.”
Admitting that she was “angry” at Ben for a while, the Grammy winner continued, “But that heartbreak set both of us on a course to figuring ourselves out to being better people.”
During that period, Jennifer gave birth to her 16-year-old twins Max and Emme, who she shares with ex-husband Marc Anthony. Meanwhile, Ben welcomed kids Violet, 18, Seraphina, 15, and Samuel, 11, with ex-wife Jennifer Garner.
For J.Lo, she found peace after forgiving both Ben and herself for their past issues.
“I feel like I came out the other side,” she said in the documentary. “I’ve made it through. I’ve made something good of my life. I’m proud of that.”