'We lost a sense of ourselves': Jennifer Lopez reveals pressures that led to breakup with Ben Affleck two decades ago

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck are one of Hollywood's hottest and most powerful couples.

However, it’s not their first time ruling the entertainment industry. Two decades ago, they were a thing and famously known as “Bennifer” before their shocking break up in 2003, just a few days before their wedding.

Now, the 54-year-old singer, who has been married to Affleck since 2022, has disclosed the reason behind their first failed love story.

Jennifer Lopez claims she and Ben Affleck ‘lost a sense of ourselves’ during their first time together

Speaking with Variety, the ‘On The Floor’ hitmaker shared, “Our relationship crumbled under the weight of the pressure.”

“We lost a sense of ourselves, and we needed to separate because we didn’t know how to survive it. I had to figure myself out, and he had to figure himself out,” she stated.

Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck called off their wedding in 2003

A joint statement from the duo at the time reportedly read, “Due to the excessive media attention surrounding our wedding, we have decided to postpone the date.”

They further said, “When we found ourselves seriously contemplating hiring three separate ‘decoy brides’ at three different locations, we realized that something was awry.”

“We began to feel that the spirit of what should have been the happiest day of our lives could be compromised. We felt what should have been a joyful and sacred day could be spoiled for us, our families, and our friends,” the pair added.

Jennifer Lopez says breaking up with Ben Affleck was hard

Meanwhile, now during a new Apple Music interview with Zane Lowe, Lopez shed light on what went wrong earlier.

She reportedly said, “We didn’t break up right at that moment. It happened over the series of the next few months.”

The actress explained, “What it did was it casted doubt in me ― and both of us ― about what our relationship was and where it was going."

“And I knew in my heart that I wanted to be with him for the rest of my life, but it didn’t feel like we were going to make it. And so, it scared me.”

‘The Mother’ star also added that splitting from the filmmaker was “very hard” since “letting go of somebody that you truly love because you just can’t figure it out.”

She said, “You just don’t have the capacity and the ability at that moment, emotionally, to figure it out. We just weren’t mature enough in that way.”

Lopez also went on to mention that she and the ‘Deep Water’ actor “just weren’t there yet. And so, we go, ‘Oh, this is what people do, they break up when things get hard, and we’re going to go our separate ways.’”

“And we went, and we both tried and found other people and had beautiful children, and had other families, and even had other relationships after that,” she added.