Jennifer Lopez Says She, Like Her ‘Atlas’ Character, Has “Felt Very Misunderstood at Times”

Are you keeping up with the Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck drama? As we attempt to keep you abreast, here’s the latest about what’s going on between the two: so, after skipping Lopez’s L.A. premiere of her new film, Atlas, on Monday night, Affleck also skipped the film’s Mexico City premiere last night. (Perhaps not surprisingly—if he couldn’t make the premiere in the city where they live, why would he fly to a different country?) But, as details emerge as to why Affleck wasn’t there on Monday night, the reason actually seems pretty understandable—he had to work.

All of the brouhaha over Lopez and Affleck’s marital strife could be pinpointed as starting at the Met Gala on May 6, when Lopez co-chaired the annual star-studded event—but Affleck was nowhere to be found. Well, the reason for why he wasn’t at the Met seems to be the reason for why he wasn’t at the Atlas premiere: he is filming The Accountant 2, and duty called during both occasions,  as Page Six reports.

After the missed Met Gala, the rumors of marital tension began. It was reported that the pair were living separately, with Affleck reportedly opting to stay at a house less than 30 minutes from their $60 million Beverly Hills mansion amid reports of Affleck house hunting for something perhaps more permanent. Then, Lopez was reportedly house hunting herself, but it has also been reported that she was out looking for an investment property, and not a home for herself. (See why we asked if you were keeping up?)

What seems clear is that there is something going on, but that both seem to want to try to work it out. “Ben feels like Jen has a hard time feeling satisfied, and that’s one of the issues they’re facing,” a source speaking to Entertainment Tonight said. “Ben is one of the only people who feels comfortable enough to be honest and real with Jen. It’s part of why Jen loves him, but also why she’s upset with him.”

They added “She tries to play it off like she doesn’t care what the public thinks about her, but she loves her fans so much, so their feedback does impact her. Ben and Jen are going through normal problems, and nothing scandalous is going on.”

A different source recently told the same outlet that “Jen and Ben’s relationship is not over yet, but they have been staying in separate homes, and the tension has been high. They are taking a second to figure out what each of them is going through and wants. Both of them have been very down.”

People reports that, indeed, the Lopez/Affleck union “is not in the best place at the moment,” but, a source added, “nothing has stopped their love.” A cause of friction seems to be figuring out a balance “as the charismatic Lopez and the more reserved Affleck deal with their differing personalities and different views on what to share about their personal lives,” People reports. (This was laid bare in Lopez’s February documentary, The Greatest Love Story Never Told, where Affleck himself said that he and his wife were “two different people with different kinds of approaches trying to learn to compromise.”) 

“She likes to open her heart to her fans and to the world,” a music source said of Lopez. Of Affleck, “He is more introspective and private. This has been difficult day-to-day.”

But, as a film source added, Affleck has never wanted to stand in the way of who Lopez is: “He’s always been impressed about how she works so hard and has achieved so much success,” they said. “But the openness and promotion is not his way.” Lopez, they said, can get irked that Affleck is not as “structured or disciplined in general as Jennifer,” they said. “This is not a bad thing. But it causes frustration.”

The source said it’s too soon to say what will happen to the couple, married since July 2022 after a 20-year rollercoaster love story: “I don’t know if they will split, or if this is something they will work through,” they said. The music source added, with a dash of hope included, “There have always been clashes in their styles and how they handle issues, but nothing has stopped their love over the years.”

On the red carpet in L.A. on Monday night, Page Six reports that Lopez said she feels “misunderstood at times” while comparing herself to her character in Atlas. “We are so different because she, like, doesn’t wear any of her emotions,” Lopez said. “She’s so closed off, and I am too much emotion sometimes.” 

Lopez further reflected that she does share some similarities with her character, like the fact that she is “very strong and sure of what [she] feel[s]”: “She was like, ‘This is what’s happening, please listen to me. Please tell me,’” Lopez said. “And felt very misunderstood at times. I can also relate to that a bit.”