Matt Damon reveals why he 'could never imagine living like' Ben Affleck amid his rumored split from JLo
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Matt Damon has admitted that he “could never imagine living like” his pal Ben Affleck who is currently in the middle of a rumored marital discord with Jennifer Lopez.
Damon - who has been a childhood friend of the ‘Gone Girl’ star - and found Hollywood success almost together with his friend, recently opened up about his personal life on the 'Radio Times' podcast.
Damon and Affleck first found fame together when they co-wrote and starred in the 1997 hit ‘Good Will Hunting’. While both of them were catapulted to astronomical fame overnight, the similarity ended there.
While Affleck often found himself at the center of media attention because of his personal life and relationships, Damon considers himself to be “boring” because of his stable two-decade-long marriage with his wife Luciana Barroso, per Daily Mail.
Matt Damon opens up about his personal life
The ‘Oppenheimer’ star recently went for a promotional visit for his upcoming film ‘The Instigators’ where he is co-starring with Ben Affleck’s brother Casey Affleck, 49, to the 'Radio Times' podcast.
Now, Damon is saying that he feels fortunate that his personal life had been mostly ignored by “gossip magazines” because his long-term marriage to Luciana was considered 'boring'.
Recalling the time of his debut, the 53-year-old star shared, “25 years ago, the gossip magazine culture was huge but they ignored me.”
He explained, “I wasn’t an exciting story; the guy who’s married, it’s boring! Scandal and s*x, that’s what people would read magazines for. I’ve been really lucky.”
Referencing his friend, Damon continued, “Especially when I look at Casey’s brother, Ben. We’ve had parallel careers in a lot of ways, but I can’t imagine living under that scrutiny for 25 years.”
Damon has been married to his wife since 2005 and the couple share three daughters - Isabella, 18, Gia, 16, and Stella, 13. Luciana also has a daughter Alexia, 24, from a previous relationship.
Ben Affleck’s relationship status has often come under scrutiny
While Matt Damon has mostly kept himself away from controversies, Ben Affleck has often created headlines for his much-talked-about relationship with Jennifer Lopez.
Affleck and the ‘Jenny From the Block’ songstress initially started dating in the early 2000s while co-starring in the movie ‘Gigli’.
Soon, the couple got engaged while eyeing to get married in late 2003. However, in September 2003, the couple postponed their wedding citing “excessive media attention.”
They said in a statement per People, "Due to the excessive media attention surrounding our wedding, we have decided to postpone the date," before adding, "When we found ourselves seriously contemplating hiring three separate 'decoy brides' at three different locations, we realized that something was awry."
"We felt what should have been a joyful and sacred day could be spoiled for us, our families and our friends," they added.
Nevertheless, the ‘Bennifer 1.0’ ended up separating in January 2004, with Affleck and Lopez going on to marry their respective spouses - Jennifer Garner and Marc Anthony.
In 2016, Lopez opened up about the public attention their relationship received and told People, "We didn't try to have a public relationship," and added, "We just happened to be together at the birth of the tabloids, and it was like 'Oh my God'. It was just a lot of pressure."
Following their respective divorces, the couple rekindled their romance in April 2021 and tied the knot in July 2022.
However, since May 2023, rumors have been swirling that Affleck and Lopez are courting marital troubles with sources telling the Daily Mail they have completed finalizing their divorce papers and will be filing them at a later date.
