Matt Damon warned Ben Affleck about reuniting with former flame Jennifer Lopez before they tied the knot, according to insiders, who claim the actor is desperate to stop his best friend, and former alcoholic, from relapsing amid growing speculation over the state of his marriage.
The seemingly beleaguered couple first sparked concerns after going more than a month without being pictured together, with later images of Affleck, 51, without his wedding ring and Lopez, 54, taking a solo vacation in Italy further fueling the speculation.
Damon, 53, has reportedly advised Affleck to ‘focus on his work’ so he doesn’t lose sight of his professional goals amid the alleged turmoil in this two-marriage.
‘Matt tried to warn Ben when he got back together with JLo that this could happen,’ an insider told DailyMail.com. ‘Matt was there to help Ben get it together after their first split and he felt like this would happen again.’
Affleck holds his friends’ opinion in high regard thanks to the fact Damon has enjoyed a loving marriage with wife Luciana Barroso for over 18 years.
Matt Damon is helping Ben Affleck to ‘focus on his work’ amid his rumored marital struggles with Jennifer Lopez
Lopez, 54, and Affleck, 51, first sparked concerns after going more than a month without being pictured together
Affleck has been seen without his wedding ring, while Lopez recently took a solo vacation in Italy before heading to Paris Fashion Week (pictured)
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Jennifer Lopez visits husband Ben Affleck's offices as divorce rumours continue to swirl
‘Matt has had a successful marriage for years and Ben has always been in awe of this,’ they continued.
Damon and Affleck have been friends since childhood and famously wrote the Oscar-winning screenplay for Good Will Hunting. In recent years they founded, Artists Equity, a production company.
The source continued: ‘As things started falling apart, Matt told Ben that he supports whatever choice he makes but wants him to jump in and focus on his work.
‘Ben spent so much time focusing on JLo’s projects just like he did the first time around. He told Ben, “What has she ever done for your career?”
‘Matt is the only real guy friend Ben has. He would not let him get back on the bottle and has been on him to make sure of this.’
The Last Duel duo are reportedly attached to star in and produce an upcoming thriller titled RIP.
Plot details have been kept secret, according to Deadline, but the duo are producing via their Artists Equity production company – which they launched in November 2022.
Artists Equity released its first film, Air, in April 2023 about the origin of Air Jordan and it starred both of the actors with Affleck also directing.
‘Matt tried to warn Ben when he got back together with JLo that this could happen,’ an insider told DailyMail.com (Lopez and Affleck pictured in December 2002)
Insiders have claimed Damon, who is married to Luciana Barroso, vocalized his fears about the pair rekindling their romance in 2021 (both couples pictured together in January 2024)
In recent months, Affleck and Lopez, who were known as Bennifer when they first dated, have been facing rumors of an ‘imminent’ divorce.
Speculation has been spurred on by the fact the pair have also been living separately, with Affleck staying at a $100,000-a-month rental property in Brentwood.
It was then revealed that the couple are also trying to quietly offload their $60 million marital home in Beverly Hills after purchasing the property together just last year.
Most recently, Lopez was spotted enjoying a solo vacation in Italy, after Affleck’s new Airstream RV arrived at his Brentwood residence – hinting at plans to take an extended road trip.
The A-list couple were famously engaged in the early 2000s before breaking up, only to reunite – and later marry – in July 2022.
Their initial two-year romance was highly publicized and the intense scrutiny on their relationship was difficult for the couple to handle.
Damon and Affleck have been friends since childhood and famously wrote the Oscar-winning screenplay for Good Will Hunting (pictured in March 1998)
Affleck said in her music documentary, The Greatest Love Story Never Told: ‘Ben and I broke up three days before our wedding and we crumbled under the pressure. You think you’re doing ok so you shrug it off.’
The On The Floor singer also got candid about the pain she felt when the relationship came to an end.
‘I had a broken heart once I lost the love of my life, my best friend, and I couldn’t talk for so many years and that was the hardest part,’ she said.
‘I used to think it was everyone else who was broken, now I think it was just me.’
While navigating their reconciliation, two-time Oscar winner Affleck admitted he had zero interest in becoming a fixture on his wife’s social media accounts.
‘Getting back together, I said, “Listen, one of the things I don’t want is a relationship on social media,”‘ the actor recalled.
‘Then I sort of realized it’s not a fair thing to ask. It’s sort of like, you’re gonna marry a boat captain and you go, “Well, I don’t like the water.”‘
The two pals are reportedly attached to star in and produce the upcoming thriller RIP (pictured in March 2023)
He continued: ‘We’re just two people with different kinds of approaches trying to learn to compromise.’
Ultimately, Affleck respected his wishes, and has only posted a handful of snaps featuring him, including a raunchy shirtless photo last Father’s Day and a sweet video of them singing Sam Cooke’s (What A) Wonderful World in the car on his birthday.
During the documentary, the mother-of-two acknowledged Affleck’s discomfort with stepping in the spotlight.
‘I don’t think [Ben] is very comfortable with me doing all of this,’ she said. ‘But he loves me, he knows I’m an artist, and he’s gonna support me in every way he can because he knows you can’t stop me from making the music I made… he doesn’t want to stop me. But that doesn’t mean he’s comfortable being the muse.’
Elsewhere in the documentary, Hollywood actress and legend Jane Fonda cautioned Affleck against committing her love story with Affleck to film – voicing grave concerns at the staying power of their union after spending two decades apart.
The couple rekindled their love in 2021 and married in a Las Vegas ceremony the following July, before throwing a lavish wedding at his Georgia estate in August 2022 (pictured)
The Oscar winner, who met Lopez some 20 years ago when they filmed 2005 romcom Monster-in-Law together, said: ‘First of all, I want you to know that I don’t entirely know why, but I feel invested in you and Ben and I really, really want this to work.
‘However, this is my concern. Like it feels too much like you’re trying to prove something instead of just living it. Every other photograph is the two of you kissing the two of you hugging.’
In the years they spent apart, Lopez married and divorced her third ex-husband Marc Anthony, with whom she welcomed her 15-year-old twins Max and Emme.
Meanwhile, Affleck married and divorced Jennifer Garner , with whom he amicably co-parents three children.
Sources previously revealed to DailyMail.com that Garner’s new partner John Miller has stressed that it is not her responsibility to ‘fix’ her ex-husband’s marriage.
Insiders had revealed that Garner was trying to help save the couple, with Lopez confiding in the actress over joint fears Affleck could relapse.