Ben Affleck was ‘taken aback’ when Jennifer Lopez shared their private love letters

Jennifer Lopez used love letters from Ben Affleck as inspiration for her new album, forthcoming documentary reveals

Jennifer Lopez is set to disclose new details about her rekindled romance with Ben Affleck in the upcoming documentary, The Greatest Love Story Never Told. However, it seems that not everyone was on board with the project at first.

In a wide-ranging interview with Variety published on 13 February, the 54-year-old singer and actor opened up about her three-part multimedia project: This Is Me … Now, the sequel to her 2002 album This Is Me … Then; the musical film This Is Me … Now: A Love Story; and a documentary about the making of the record and the film.

When the trailer for the Amazon original musical film was released last month, it raised eyebrows for its chaotic plot and gaggle of celebrity cameos. The teaser even opened with a shot of the “On the Floor” singer riding on the back of Affleck’s motorcycle as they drove across a body of water.

As it turns out, her filmmaker husband is also featured in the forthcoming documentary, due for release on 27 February. The doc’s title, The Greatest Love Story Never Told, reportedly comes from a stack of love letters that he had written to Lopez. The Hustlers star initially used the love letters as inspiration for her album, digging them up for songwriters she had invited to her house.

According to Variety, a scene from the documentary shows Affleck “taken aback” after noticing his private love letters strewn about for the songwriters. He reportedly tells the camera: “I did really find the beauty and the poetry and the irony in the fact that it’s the greatest love story never told. If you’re making a record about it, that seems kind of like telling it.”

At another point in the documentary, the Gone Girl actor echoed his sentiments about sharing details of their relationship - which was rekindled in 2021 nearly two decades after they called off their 2002 engagement. “Things that are private I always felt are sacred and special because, in part, they’re private,” he said. “So this was something of an adjustment for me.”

Affleck wasn’t the only person to express their hesitations about the hour-long musical film, which is a visual reimaging of Lopez’s publicly scrutinised love life. According to Variety, the documentary shows actor Jane Fonda sharing her skepticism about joining the project. “I want you to know that I don’t entirely know why, but I feel invested in you and Ben, and I really want this to work,” Fonda tells Lopez in the documentary, per the outlet. “However, this is my concern. Like, it feels too much like you’re trying to prove something instead of just living it. You know, every other photograph is the two of you kissing and the two of you hugging.”

“That’s just us living our life,” Lopez replied, laughing. Even the Marry Me actor herself told Variety about the upcoming musical film: “Everybody thought I was crazy. And by the way, I thought I was crazy.”

Despite Affleck’s initial hesitations, Lopez explained that her husband was wildly supportive throughout the making of This Is Me … Now: A Love Story. Affleck, the recipient of two Academy Awards, often gave Lopez filmmaking advice during shooting. “He said: ‘You made a movie. For you. You made a great movie. You did it,’” Lopez recalled her husband saying.

The singer, who reportedly self-financed the project with $20m of her own money, added: “Honestly, I don’t care what happens now. That is the biggest kind of compliment that I could get.”

Lopez and Affleck tied the knot in July 2022 during an intimate Las Vegas ceremony. The couple hosted a second wedding ceremony at Affleck’s home in Georgia one month later.

The album This Is Me … Now is due for release on 16 February, along with This Is Me … Now: A Love Story on Amazon Prime Video. The Greatest Love Story Never Told will be released on Amazon Prime Video on 27 February.