Ben Affleck's Sweet Gift To J.Lo Speaks Volumes About His Past Marriage With Ex Jennifer Garner
Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez's rollercoaster relationship initially ended in 2004. However, their love lasted throughout his decade-long marriage to Jennifer Garner, thanks to the love letters Affleck saved from their time together. Some may find it strange to keep little souvenirs that remind you of your ex, but in Bennifer's case, it wasn't that weird considering everything else that was going on. The former couple started dating around 2001 and got engaged in 2003 with plans to marry later that same year. However, J.Lo and Affleck canceled their 2003 wedding shortly before it was due to take place, which hurt their relationship terribly.
To make matters worse, the press was completely obsessed with them, and eventually, it all got to be too much to handle. But, in 2020, the "Gone Girl" star subtly shared that Lopez wasn't entirely out of his life during his relationship with Garner. While speaking to New York Times reporter Brooks Barnes, Affleck gushed about his former fiancee's performance in "Hustlers," arguing, "She should have been nominated [for an Academy Award]. She's the real thing."
The "Argo" director notably also revealed, "I keep in touch periodically with her and have a lot of respect for her," (via X, formerly known as Twitter). A year later, fate led Affleck's path to cross with the "On The Floor" singer's once more, and they seemingly picked up right where they left off. When it was time to celebrate their first Christmas after getting back together, the Oscar winner found a creative use for the letters he had saved all those years.
Jennifer Garner reportedly wasn't surprised by the love letters
In Jennifer Lopez's documentary "The Greatest Love Story Never Told," she shared that Ben Affleck sweetly compiled a book using current and decades-old love letters and gifted it to her for Christmas. While that sounds incredibly sweet, one note raised questions about his marriage to Jennifer Garner since it read: "The Greatest Love Story Never Told by Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck 2001-2010 [...] and counting," (via Fox News). By 2010, the "Justice League" star and Garner were five years into their marriage and had already welcomed two children.
However, since the letter didn't appear to have a date, it may have been written back in the early 2000s. That doesn't make it any less weird, though, because Bennifer's relationship shouldn't have had an end date at that point. Although the 2010 date may indicate infidelity, there doesn't seem to be any evidence of it, so it could also simply be an inside joke. Regardless, it's reasonable to assume that Garner felt odd after learning that her ex-husband kept love letters from his former fiancée, but an insider disclosed to the Daily Mail that she wasn't surprised.
"Jennifer knew going into her marriage how Ben felt about JLo and it was not a secret," they confirmed. "Ben keeps his memories, whether it is from movies he worked on or family and relationship moments, he always has what the kids call 'receipts.'" However, the actor notably never intended for the world to know about his big romantic gesture.
Jennifer Lopez used the sweet gift as inspiration for her music
Elsewhere in her documentary, Jennifer Lopez confessed that she used Ben Affleck's love letter book as inspiration to write songs. However, songwriting is a collaborative process, so she had to share his sweet words with other producers and writers. Affleck admitted that he was surprised when she told him other people had read their private letters and dubbed him "Pen Affleck." However, he knew his wife's heart was in the right place.
"[Artists] get inspired by their personal life, it moves you," the "Mallrats" star acknowledged. "I know as a writer and director I certainly do the same things. But things that are private I had always felt are sacred and special in part because they're private," (via Fox News). Affleck added that he was learning to meet Lopez in the middle when it comes to certain matters. However, there's one thing she reportedly can't let go of: her jealousy.
Lopez isn't afraid to tell other women to back off Affleck and has supposedly had problems with his ex-wife, Jennifer Garner. An insider informed OK! magazine that the "Let's Get Loud" hitmaker felt insanely jealous about the tight-knit bond between her hubby and Garner. They claimed that Lopez insisted on gaining greater priority over his past relationship and even got into a screaming match with Affleck over it. All in all, it's safe to say that the famously laidback star probably hasn't kept any love letters from his time with Garner as a result.