Jennifer Lopez and the newly sober Ben Affleck had problems on their honeymoon

When Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez rekindled their romance in 2021, he was freshly sober and sold her on being “a changed man,” while she was still the attention-seeking pop diva who didn't mind being followed by cameras, even on their honeymoon in Italy.

That's the formula that, according to Page Six, led to the blatant marital strife that surfaced while they were still on their honeymoon. Now that Lopez, 55, has filed papers for her long-awaited divorce from Affleck, 52, people who know the couple are coming forward to talk about when and how things went wrong.

According to Page Six, things went wrong pretty quickly, shortly after Affleck and Lopez's lavish wedding ceremony on August 20, 2022, at his Georgia estate. The newlyweds headed to the picturesque and romantic Lake Como at the foot of the Alps – where George Clooney has his lakeside villa.

But Affleck and Lopez were not alone. Although they were accompanied by the film and music star's entourage, the paparazzi soon appeared. Photographers followed them when they went out to dinner or strolled along the lake, and the couple always staged their great affection for each other for the cameras.

But the declarations of affection were just for show, the source told Page Six. When they weren't on camera, “they barely spoke to each other during what was supposedly the happiest time of their lives,” the source said.

For his part, Affleck “was unhappy that paparazzi were following them,” the source explained somewhat incredulously. The source pointed out that Lopez “is an international superstar and he acted like it was a surprise that they were being followed.”

The other issue, however, is that Affleck has begun to “settle himself” in his sobriety and a new sense of “normalcy,” the source said. Affleck had long struggled with alcohol addiction privately and publicly, which led to repeated stints in rehab, may have played a role in some questionable career decisions and undoubtedly contributed to the end of his marriage to Jennifer Garner in 2018.

Affleck sold Lopez “that he was a different person” when they rekindled their “childhood romance” from 20 years ago, the source said. Affleck and Lopez dated from 2002 to 2004, when both were still rising young stars in the entertainment industry. They almost got married but called off the engagement and split, blaming much of the intense media scrutiny.

But intense media scrutiny was inevitable when Affleck and Lopez began dating again in 2021, shortly after she called off her engagement to former MLB star Alex Rodriguez. (Incidentally, Rodriguez appears to have responded to his ex-fiancée's divorce news on Wednesday, posting a cryptic social media post that read, “Either you go one way or the other, you might as well be the one calling the shots.”)

When Affleck reconnected with Lopez, “he was just getting sober,” Page Six's source said. “He was in a vulnerable state, and whatever their chemistry was playing into that… He was in this frenzied, agitated state.”

But the whirlwind romance quickly died down after the wedding, the source said. As the actor, director and father of three continued to adjust to his sober life, he craved more privacy and could no longer handle Lopez's level of fame, the source said. “He doesn't want (the entourage) and all the drama that comes with it in his house,” the source said.

Affleck also disagreed with the extent to which his wife chose to share aspects of their private life with the public, something he expressed in “The Greatest Love Story Never Told,” the Amazon Prime documentary she released in February that chronicled their rekindled romance.

The documentary showed Affleck's stunned expression when he learned that she had shared his private love letters to her from the past 20 years with musicians and songwriters who were working with her on her new album, “This is Me… Now.” The “Good Will Hunting” star had compiled all of their written communication into a book that he gave her on their first Christmas together in 2021. He said, “I've always felt that private things are sacred and special because they are partly private.”

In her divorce filing, Lopez listed April 26 as the date of their separation. Soon after, reports emerged that Affleck and Lopez had split. At the time, Page Six reported that Affleck would seek a “divorce on the grounds of temporary incompetence” if possible because he had finally “come to his senses” after what felt like a “fever dream” of his rekindled relationship with Lopez.

Speculation of divorce also increased. According to In Touch Weekly, a sober, “healthy” and focused Affleck pushed to end the marriage. His “decision is final,” a source said. “The divorce is happening,” the source added, while the filmmaker told friends that “he's excited about the next chapter. He wants a life of serenity and peace, and getting off that rollercoaster will be a relief.”

But even though Affleck wanted to end the marriage, he also reportedly tried to protect his wife's feelings. That's why he didn't file for divorce, but he couldn't avoid “humiliating” her, Page Six reported.

“She's angry. He humiliated her,” the source said. “He was the one who initiated the reunion. … She made a big deal out of him being the love of her life.” The Daily Mail also reported that Lopez decided to file for divorce on Tuesday because it was the second anniversary of their wedding in Georgia.

“Jennifer said she was tired of being humiliated by Ben and she waited until the second anniversary because she wanted to annoy him,” a source told the Daily Mail. “But it didn't hurt him. He's been done for a long time and deep down she knows it.”

Originally published: August 21, 2024 at 3:25 p.m.