Ben Affleck doesn't want every detail of his relationship with Jennifer Lopez to be shared all over the town.
"I had a very firm sense of boundaries initially around the press," the Oscar winner said in the Hustlers actress' documentary The Greatest Love Story Never Told while looking back at their time together in the early aughts. "While Jen I don't think objected to it in the way I did. I very much did object to it."
So when they rekindled their romance nearly two decades after they'd called off their engagement in 2003, the Argo star did cost one thing: a sense of privacy.
"Getting back together, I said, 'Listen, one of the things I don't want is a relationship on social media,'" he continued. "And then I sort of realized it's not a fair thing to ask. It's sort of like you're gonna marry a boat captain and you go, 'Well, I don't like the water.' We're just two people with kind of different approaches trying to learn to compromise."
Still, it may not surprise fans that Ben—who wed Jennifer in 2022—wanted to keep parts of their marriage to themselves. After all, he said the catalyst for their early aughts breakup "was this massive amount of scrutiny around our private life."
So Jennifer—who shares 16-year-old twins Emme and Max with ex-husband Marc Anthony—knows telling their love story isn't exactly in Ben's comfort zone.
"I don't think he's very comfortable with me doing all of this," the singer, who recently dropped her This Is Me...Now album, said in the doc. "But he loves me, he knows I'm an artist and he's gonna support me in every way he can. You can't stop me from making the music I made and writing the words that I wrote. That's gonna happen, and he doesn't want to stop me. He wants to do that. But that doesn't mean he's kind of comfortable being the muse."
And while Ben—who shares three kids with ex-wife Jennifer Garner—understands making art based on personal experiences, that didn't necessarily make the process easier.
"Jen was really inspired by this experience, which is how artists do their work," he shared. "They get inspired, their personal life. It moves you. 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 because in part they're private. So, this was something of an adjustment for me."
The Greatest Love Story Never Told is available to watch on Prime Video now. And to look back at Bennifer's journey, keep reading.
The two prepare to film a scene for the movie in West Hollywood. The couple met on the set of the film.
The two are spotted in the city.
The two film the movie on Will Rogers State Beach in Los Angeles. That month, the actor proposes to the actress with a 6.1-carat pink diamond ring.
The two film the movie in New York City.
Is there anything more '00s than both Bennifer 1.0 and TRL?
The two make their red carpet debut as a couple at the premiere of her film Maid in Manhattan.
The two bundle up at the Sundance Film Festival in Utah.
The two appear at the premiere of Daredevil, starring Ben as the superhero.
The two appear at the premiere of Daredevil, starring Ben and future ex-wife Jennifer Garner.
The two attend the Academy Awards together.
The two sit courtside at a Los Angeles Lakers game.
The two film a Dateline interview for NBC in Vancouver.
The two appear at the premiere for their movie in Westwood, Calif.
...it flops at the box office.
The two postpone their wedding. No future date is given.
The two are seen at a Boston Red Sox game. The team is Ben's favorite.
The two end their engagement.
They're baaaack. On Sept. 10, the couple makes their first red carpet appearance in 18 years at the Venice Film Festival premiere of The Last Duel.
There's no denying J.Lo makes for a stunning plus-one!
Ben supports J.Lo at the 2021 Global Citizen Live event in New York City, where she performed onstage. It marked her first music gig since she performed at VAX LIVE in May, where the actor also appeared onstage separately, fueling rumors of a rekindled romance.
The two attend the Met Gala together for the first time.
Jen and Ben put on a sizzling display on the red carpet at the premiere of his film The Last Duel in New York City.
Jennifer confirmed her engagement to the Gone Girl actor with a video posted to her On The JLo site, revealing a glimpse of her beautiful engagement ring with a green stone.
On July 16, Jennifer and Ben tied the knot in a surprise ceremony at A Little White Wedding Chapel in Las Vegas.
The two vacation with her twins and two of his kids in the French capital soon after their wedding.
June 2023: Red Carpet Fabulous
J.Lo steps out with Ben in support of his movie The Flash.
February 2024: This Is Them...Now
Jennifer release This Is Me... Now, an album about her relationship with Ben. The record is accompanied by a musical film titled This Is Me... Now: A Love Story and the documentary The Greatest Love Story Never Told.