Ben Affleck Didn't Want a 'Relationship on Social Media' with Jennifer Lopez but Learned to 'Compromise'

Ben Affleck opens up about his relationship with Jennifer Lopez in her new documentary 'The Greatest Love Story Never Told'

When Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck rekindled their romance in 2021 after nearly two decades apart, the Air star had a request.

Lopez has 253 million followers on Instagram — and Affleck didn’t want their relationship to play out in front of prying eyes, he says in her new Amazon Prime documentary The Greatest Love Story Never Told.

“Getting back together, I said, ‘Listen, one of the things I don’t want is a relationship on social media,’” the actor and director, 51, recalls. “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.’”

Despite Affleck’s trepidations, the couple has made it work, getting engaged in April 2022 and tying the knot in Las Vegas that July. In the years since, Lopez, 54, has occasionally shared photos and videos of Affleck to her social media feeds, including a sweet video of them singing Sam Cooke’s “(What A) Wonderful World” in the car in honor of his birthday in August.

“We’re just two people with different kinds of approaches trying to learn to compromise,” he says in the doc.

Related: Jennifer Lopez's Film Director Explains 'Purposeful' Decision Not to Show Ben Affleck's Face in This Is Me...Now (Exclusive)

Lopez, too, speaks openly about the ways in which Affleck is uncomfortable in the spotlight, especially as the inspiration behind her new album This Is Me…Now and its accompanying visual film This Is Me…Now: A Love Story.

“I don’t think [Ben] is very comfortable with me doing all of this,” she says. “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.”

The Greatest Love Story Never Told, which begins streaming on Tuesday, offers fans a behind-the-scenes look at the making of Lopez’s ambitious new project. The doc, directed by Jason Bergh, includes interviews with the star’s inner circle, as well as her producing partners and longtime collaborators.

In the documentary, Lopez reveals that Affleck gave her a very special gift on their first Christmas as a reunited couple: a book that included every letter and email they’d ever exchanged over two decades, which he titled The Greatest Love Story Never Told.

Related: Jennifer Lopez Says She's 'Forgiven' Ben Affleck 'All the Way' After Being 'Angry' for a 'Long Time'

Affleck accompanied Lopez to the Los Angeles premiere of her original film on Feb. 13, and received an emotional thank you from the star as she took the stage ahead of the screening.

"And then there is the person who inspired this for me, who has inspired me my whole life. He just, he inspired an album 20 years ago and I know he hates that I'm doing this right now," Lopez said.

"He's just like, 'Please shut up.’ No! And I say no. I say, I love you and thank you for believing in me and helping me believe in myself," she continued. "And helping me to grow every single day. Thank you for the family that we've created and our children and everything that you do for me."

"You will never know what it is to be able to share this lifetime and have you be my love. Thank you," Lopez concluded.

Related: Jennifer Lopez Performs This Is Me... Now Track 'Rebound' at Apple Music Live Concert in LA (Exclusive)

In an interview with PEOPLE, director Dave Meyers — who helmed This Is Me…Now: A Love Story — further detailed the pair’s special connection.

“I feel like I have true love in my life, and when I lens that up, being at their house and being in intimate spaces with them over a couple of months, it just seemed like they’re very, very very much true love… It was just really lovely to see how solid and supportive they were of each other. It inspired me in my marriage, even,” he said. “Obviously Jen and her determination drove 95% of it, but I don’t know if there’s Jen without Ben at this point.”

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