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(NewsNation) — She has few (if any) real friends who aren’t on her payroll in some way.
She’s turned herself into a giant marketing machine… without much to market.
Ben Affleck let Jennifer Lopez file for divorce to give her “back some control.”
The plug was pulled on the Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck union when Lopez filed for divorce this week… on what would have been the couple’s second anniversary.
But while the marriage is over, the battle is not.
While rumors swirled there may not be a prenup, my sources say the point is moot.
“Jennifer asked for no spousal support and frankly, she’s worth a lot more than him,” my source who knows both Lopez and Affleck said.
But while 2024 has been Lopez’s annus horribilis, insiders say she has only herself to blame.
“Why did she release all those movies and an album about their love affair… It was just so intrusive. And the love letters? She let her entire writing staff read them for inspiration. That’s just awful. It betrays trust,” the insider said.
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PARIS, FRANCE – JULY 26: Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck are seen at the Louvre Museum on July 26, 2022 in Paris, France. (Photo by Pierre Suu/GC Images) -
PREMIOS BILLBOARD DE LA MÚSICA LATINA 2017 — Pictured: Jennifer Lopez performs on stage at the Watsco Center in the University of Miami, Coral Gables, Florida on April 27, 2017 — (Photo by: John Parra/Telemundo/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images) -
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – MARCH 16: Jennifer Lopez, Ben Affleck and his son Samuel Garner Affleck attend a basketball game between the Los Angeles Lakers and Golden State Warriors at Crypto.com Arena on March 16, 2024 in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images) -
US actress Jennifer Lopez (R) and US actor Ben Affleck attend Amazon’s “This is Me… Now: A Love Story” premiere at the Dolby theatre in Hollywood, California, February 13, 2024. (Photo by Robyn BECK / AFP) (Photo by ROBYN BECK/AFP via Getty Images) -
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – FEBRUARY 05: Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck seen during the 65th GRAMMY Awards at Crypto.com Arena on February 05, 2023 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by John Shearer/Getty Images for The Recording Academy)
Jennifer Lopez, Ben Affleck love letters
During the Lopez documentary “The Greatest Love Story Never Told,” Lopez let her fellow songwriters and producers look through letters and emails that she and Affleck had written to each other over the years, purportedly as inspiration for the music.
The scene horrified Affleck.
On camera, Lopez said: “I don’t think he’s very comfortable with me doing all of this. But he loves me, he knows I’m an artist, and he’s going to support me in every way he can, because he knows this is — he can’t stop me from making the music I made, and writing the words that I wrote.”
But my insider added, “He couldn’t stop her — and yes, she may have written the words… but letting others read them so they could write songs for you? It’s awful. Not to mention, where’s her artistry? She’s an ‘artist’, if she wanted to use them, she should have written the songs.”
Affleck has always been protective of his privacy, telling the Wall Street Journal in 2021, “One of the harder lessons that I have learned is that it’s not wise to share everything with the world. There are some things which are private and intimate and have meaning in terms of their intimacy by dint of the fact that they’re not shared with the rest of the world.”
A sentiment that Lopez not only ignored but trampled on.
Jennifer Lopez, Ben Affleck: Who is to blame
But Hollywood isn’t just blaming Lopez — my insiders are pointing fingers squarely at Lopez’s longtime manager, Benny Medina.
“Benny (Medina) should have never let her do half the things she did this year,” another insider said. “And that awful Bridgerton-themed birthday party? Where she got all dressed up and posed for pictures? Almost all of the people there were on her payroll in some way. Where are her real friends? She doesn’t have any anymore. She’s turned herself into a Kardashian: All pictures and paparazzi, oversharing everything and no actual substance.”
Ouch.
Even Lopez’s beauty line, JLo Beauty which she constantly showcases, is spiraling.
As the Wall Street Journal wrote: “Toward the end of last year, beauty retailer Sephora notified Lopez’s cosmetics brand that it would have to vacate its retail stores by the end of 2024.
JLo Beauty’s annual sales — about $75 million, according to a person familiar with the business — are small in comparison to other celebrity brands like Rare Beauty, Selena Gomez’s brand, which reportedly generates $400 million in sales.”
Louis Mandelbaum, host of the podcast “Pop Pantheon told the WSJ: “Jennifer Lopez remains a super celebrity, but she has not been a relevant hitmaker in a long time…There’s a dissonance.”
As music journalist Toure told me earlier this year: “Sometimes you don’t retire… the fans retire you.”
Ben Affleck ‘just relieved it’s over’
As for Affleck, who has thrown himself into his work, “he’s just relieved it’s over,” my insider said. “He couldn’t stand the paparazzi — and knowing either she or her people set it all up every time. Listen, there are plenty of people way more famous than Jennifer, like Jenifer Aniston or Julia Roberts, who go out every day in Los Angeles and never get shot by the paparazzi. Because they don’t go to obvious places and they certainly don’t call (photographers). This really only happens to Jennifer Lopez and the Kardashians.”
Meanwhile, Affleck needs to hunker down as the attacks are far from over.
“Benny (Medina) is leaking to People, Page Six and other outlets,” the insider added. “Benny and Ben have always hated each other and now it’s Benny’s time to get even. It’s kind of obvious.”
Back when Affleck and Medina first started dating in 2002, Affleck insisted on Lopez firing Medina as her manager. At the time, in 2003, according to the New York Times, “Ms. Lopez took the unusual step of filing a complaint with California’s labor commission against Mr. Medina, saying he illegally contracted work on her behalf and misappropriated more than $100,000.”
Once Affleck and Lopez broke up in 2004, Lopez immediately rehired Medina and dropped her complaint. Medina has been by her side ever since — and held his tongue over the last two years.
Once again, neither Lopez’s rep or Medina got back to me.
As for Lopez filing for divorce (in which she said the couple had been separated since April 26), my insider added: “It was Ben being gracious by letting her file for divorce. He gave her back some control.”
Jennifer Lopez’s Las Vegas is ‘DOA’
As for what happens now, insiders say, Lopez supposed deal for Las Vegas is DOA. A Vegas staple told me, “There have been zero talks to get JLo back to Vegas.”
Lopez was said to be still planning a Vegas residency, even though the most recent one was canceled after her tour was canceled.
She needs to go away for a year. In that time she will find someone else to be engaged to. It’s odd. She’s addicted to love and always — always — rebounds very quickly.”
Jennifer Lopez’s very bad year
Here’s a look back at Jennifer Lopez’s horrid year
- February 16: “This is Me… Now” debuts alongside her accompanying documentary “The Greatest Love Story Never Told” (which follows her love story with Ben Affleck), and a “companion” musical film “This Is Me Now… A Love Story.” All of which flopped and the album is Lopez’s worst performing ever.
- March 13: Seven cities were canceled from her “This Is Me…Now” tour due to poor sales.
- April 2: With lagging sales, Lopez’s tour is rebranded as “This Is Me… Live,” featuring her greatest hits instead of the treacly love songs from her latest album.
- April 11: Lopez goes back to work filming “Kiss of the Spider Woman,” while Affleck leaves for Los Angeles.
- May 6: Lopez co-chaired the annual Met Gala and showed up alone after Affleck refused to attend (Claiming he was filming in L.A.). On what was supposed to be a glorious homecoming for Lopez, she appeared gaunt and furious, snapping at reporters on the red carpet.
- May 12: Lopez spent Mother’s Day 5,643 miles away from Affleck in Paris with her daughter Emme while Affleck was hanging out with his children in L.A. next to his ex-wife, Jennifer Garner.
- May 15: Lopez spotted house hunting with her producer Elaine Goldsmith-Thomas despite Lopez and Affleck dropping $60 million in cash for a Beverly Hills mansion last June.
- May 24: Lopez’s Netflix movie “Atlas” premieres and is panned.
- May 28: Affleck attends his daughter Violet’s graduation without Lopez.
- May 29: It’s reported her $90 million deal with MGM in Las Vegas is kaput.
- May 31: Live Nation announces tour cancellation.
- June 2024: Lopez and Affleck put their $60 million house on the market. He is reported to be staying in a rental, alone.
- July 24: Lopez celebrates her 55th birthday without Affleck. He is supposed to fly out and meet with her the week after — but stands her up.
- July 30: Affleck buys his own home for $20 million.
- August 20: Lopez files for divorce from Affleck on their 2nd anniversary. He spends the day moving his daughter Violet to college at Yale with his ex, Jennifer Garner.
- August 22: Lopez prepares for JLo Beauty to be pulled from Sephora shelves by the end of the year