She often hits the headlines for her sensational style, performances and age-defying looks – but Jennifer Lopez has caused a stir following the launch of her new film and album This Is Me Now: A Love Story for all the wrong reasons.
The self-funded musical film – which features all the songs from her new album and a cast of actors – left viewers baffled by the strange concept, nonsensical storyline and also the mum-of-two’s oversharing about her sex life with husband Ben Affleck.
In her song The Greatest Love Story Never Told, Jennifer, 54, makes public her most private moments with Ben, 51, singing, “Missing your body, climbing on top of me/slipping inside of me, way that I ride it/bodies aligning, look at our timing.”
But while critics and fans can’t decide what to make of Jennifer’s latest career move – with some fans branding the musical bonanza as “bizarre” and “confusing” – a source says that Ben is mortified about the details revealed in the songs.
They say, “Ben had begged her not to go into such vivid detail, but Jen wasn’t hearing any of it. She was clear from the start that she’d share how passionate and intense their love story is but, for Ben, it’s too much. He’s feeling trampled on, not to mention embarrassed.
"Jen has a thin skin and often complains about what people say about them, but then she turns around and makes their entire private life into this big public display. As far as Ben’s concerned, she’s being way too open, and he worries it’ll give people licence to tear them to shreds. But when Ben tries to tell her that, she gets defensive and accuses him of trying to suffocate her creativity.”
This Is Me... Now largely follows Jennifer’s colourful love life – in particular, her fairy- tale romance with Ben. The pair famously rekindled their relationship in 2021, 18 years after they initially called off their engagement just days before they were due to walk down the aisle.
At the time, insiders said the relationship ended as Ben was uncomfortable with the relentless media attention. After reuniting, the pair tied the knot in Las Vegas in July 2022, before having a second lavish wedding in Georgia months later.
This week, a documentary showing the behind-the-scenes of the creation of her film and album, titled The Greatest Love Story Never Told will air – and in an interview, Ben told how he was “taken aback” when he found songwriters poring over his love letters to Jennifer to get inspiration.
He said, “Things that are private I always felt are sacred and special because, in part, they’re private. So
this was something of an adjustment for me.”
Our source adds, “Jen used Ben's intimate love letters as writing material for her album without even running it by him. It was a total shock, but he had to play it off like he was OK because he didn’t want to make a scene. The whole point of the letters for him was that it was ‘the greatest love story never told’, and something private – but Jen completely missed the point.
“She’s taken private stuff that he says to her in intimate moments about what he likes in the bedroom and turned them into lyrics. It clearly makes him uncomfortable. He tried to explain that to her, but she just glossed over it. She can’t see that she’s embarrassing her husband. Either that, or she just doesn’t care.”
And far more than his own embarrassment, the source says that Ben – who shares children Violet, 18, Seraphina, 15, and Samuel, 12, with ex-wife Jennifer Garner – has also felt concerned about what his inner circle will be forced to hear.
“Not only are his friends and family concerned over it, but his poor kids have to see and hear it all. It’s just one more exercise in humiliation for Ben,” reveals the source.
They continue, “It’s mortifying and it’s the last thing he wants for his public image. Ben’s an Oscar winner – that’s the sort of level he wants to aim for. He’s not trying to be this oversexed, middle-aged couple competing for shock value with the Kardashians. He knows people are laughing and he can’t stand it – but no matter how many times he tells Jen, she won’t listen.”