Jennifer Lopez says she and Ben Affleck ‘have PTSD’ from their first romance

Jennifer Lopez has claimed she and husband Ben Affleck both have 'PTSD' from their first relationship in the early noughties.

'Bennifer' took the world by storm when they first emerged as a couple in 2002, and left many fans heartbroken when they decided to go their separate ways just a couple of years later.

Fast-forward to 2021, when they regained their celebrity couple status as they rekindled their romance and went on to get married.

Lopez has now decided to offer an insight into her relationship with Affleck in a new film, This is Me... Now, which accompanies an album of the same name.

The releases comes 20 years after Lopez dropped her This Is Me…Then album, with Lopez describing the new film as a 'musical experience'.

In an interview with Variety, the singer admitted the decision to include her relationship with Affleck in the film sparked mixed feelings among her team, but she had to 'follow her heart'.

"This is me following my heart and doing something that maybe everybody didn’t think was the best idea, but I had to do it," she said.

Instagram@jlo

Lopez went on to admit that the attention around the couple when they first got together had an impact, telling the publication: "We both have PTSD."

However, with an additional two decades now behind them, she continued: "We’re older now. We’re wiser. We also know what’s important, what’s really important in life, and it’s not so much what other people think. It’s about being true to who you are.”

A teaser for the film shows Lopez saying: "When I was a little girl, when someone asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up, my answer was always… in love.”

Matt Winkelmeyer/ James Devaney

The singer has declined to reveal whether the film is a scripted feature or a documentary, instead encouraging people to take a look for themselves.

“You have to see it and you’ll have to experience it to understand it," she said. "That’s why I call it a ‘musical experience.’ Because there’s music, you can see it, you can hear it and then you’ll get to live it.”

Both the film and album versions of This Is Me... Now are set to arrive on 16 February, with the film available to stream on Amazon Prime Video.

Lopez's first single from the album, titled 'Can't Get Enough', will give fans an early idea of what to expect when it arrives on 10 January.

Topics: Celebrity, Jennifer Lopez, Ben Affleck, Mental Health, Sex and Relationships

Emily Brown

Emily Brown is UNILAD Editorial Lead at LADbible Group. She first began delivering news when she was just 11 years old - with a paper route - before graduating with a BA Hons in English Language in the Media from Lancaster University. Emily joined UNILAD in 2018 to cover breaking news, trending stories and longer form features. She went on to become Community Desk Lead, commissioning and writing human interest stories from across the globe, before moving to the role of Editorial Lead. Emily now works alongside the UNILAD Editor to ensure the page delivers accurate, interesting and high quality content.