Hollywood actress and legend Jane Fonda warned Jennifer Lopez against filming her love story with Ben Affleck, raising serious concerns about the staying power of their union after two decades apart.
Speaking to Jlo, 54, the Oscar winner who met the singer and actress some 20 years ago when they filmed the 2005 comedy Monster-in-Law together, said: ‘First of all, I want you to know that I don’t quite know why . but I feel invested in you and Ben and I really, really want this to work.
“This is my concern, though,” Fonda added. “Like it feels too much like you’re trying to prove something instead of just living it. Every other picture is the two of you kissing and the two of you cuddling.”
Fonda, 86, expressed her reservations when Lopez approached her about starring in her music documentary, The Greatest Love Story Never Told.
The 90-minute film was released in February as part of three works focusing on her breakup and reunion with 51-year-old Affleck.
In a candid phone conversation in Jlo’s film project, The Greatest Love Story Never Told, Jane Fonda was heard expressing her concerns about the singer’s marriage and opening up about rumors that Ben is “unhappy.”
The film was released in February as part of three works about her breakup and eventual reunion and marriage to husband Ben Affleck, 51.
The documentary charted the making of the film ‘This is Me Now’, a part fantasy, part biographical companion piece to her latest album of that name.
Jlo was so committed to the project that she invested $20 million of her own money when studios and streaming platforms passed on it.
But due to concerns that now seem all too prescient, Fonda initially turned down the offer to take on a cameo role as a member of the Zodiac Council who bears witness to Jlo’s disastrous romantic choices during the action in This is Me Now .
Jlo’s attempts to convince her to reconsider are seen in The Greatest Love Story Never Told, which features the phone conversation in which Fonda explains her reasons for her death.
Earlier, Jlo’s manager, Benny Medina, was heard conveying Fonda’s deep concerns.
He said: ‘She called me and said, ‘I believe that everyone in the whole world is striving for this love and the idea of how you present it is so sacred and so important that you should deal with it the same way you do’ I don’t flaunt it so excessively that it creates any criticism or resentment. My biggest concern is that critics and people will come at her one way or another.”
Jlo dismissed Fonda’s concerns and eventually convinced her to take the role.
But the Hollywood legend’s cautious comment seemed to reflect some of the discomfort Affleck himself expressed in noting his and his wife’s very different attitudes toward social media and the very public sharing of what for him is their private life .
Lopez and Fonda have been friends for nearly two decades since starring together in the 2005 rom-com Monster-In-Law. They were pictured together in 2011
The Oscar-winning actress, 86, agreed to appear in the film which follows Jennifer’s friends – including Fonda – as they stage an intervention over fears she could be a sex addict after three lavish weddings.
Jlo can be seen grimacing just before Fonda openly expresses concern that she is “trying to prove something” with her marriage
The couple eloped and married in Las Vegas in July 2022, then held a second wedding that stretched over several days and saw Jlo don three different dresses at Affleck’s plantation property in Riceboro, Georgia, a month later.
But just two years later, divorce rumors abound, amid signs of marital troubles. Affleck has moved out of the couple’s $60 million Los Angeles home and while J Lo remains solo there, it is reportedly back on the market.
Meanwhile, Jlo abruptly pulled out of her upcoming tour, telling fans she did so to spend more time with “loved ones and family.”
And while she posted a sweet Father’s Day tribute to Affleck on Instagram on Sunday with the caption, “Our hero,” it’s unclear if the pair spent the day together.
Affleck’s ex, Jennifer Garner, 52, with whom he has three children, was seen visiting him at his Brentwood home on Sunday, while Jlo was seen visiting the day before.
And where once, as Fonda noted, every other photo featured Affleck and J Lo hugging and kissing, the PDAs have been conspicuously absent from their recent performances, with Affleck looking miserable and their body language tense.
Even as she accepted the role in The Greatest Love Story Never Told, Fonda admitted to Jlo that she had been concerned when footage from the Grammys apparently showed her chastising Affleck for looking dejected and bored in March 2023.
Fonda said: ‘I got really scared, you know, all this stuff about the Grammys and he looks unhappy and I’m like, “Oh, my God, what’s going on?”
To which Jlo replied laughing: ‘Nothing! He said, “I have become the symbol of the besieged man.”
Affleck appears in his wife’s documentary and does his best to be supportive, but it’s clear he feels very uncomfortable shining such a public light on his intimate life and marriage.
Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck shocked fans around the world when they were accidentally caught in a very tense conversation at the 2023 Grammys
The couple eloped and married in Las Vegas in July 2022 and then held a second wedding that stretched over several days and saw Jlo don three different dresses, but now appear to be on the brink of divorce.
But even though he appears in Jlo’s recent documentary and does his best to be supportive, it’s clear that Affleck feels deeply uncomfortable shedding such a public light on his intimate life with his wife.
“It’s a bit like marrying a boat captain and saying, ‘Well, I don’t like the water.’ We’re just two people with different approaches trying to make compromises.”
Throughout their marriage, Affleck has only appeared a handful of times on Jlo’s Instagram, where she regularly posts updates about her life, work and brands.
Reflecting on his wife’s very different approach to publicity, former alcoholic Affleck compared his wife’s “addiction” to social media and work to his own struggles with drinking.
He said: ‘Jen felt emotionally neglected as a child. We’re learning more and more that it doesn’t have to be the kind of trauma that keeps you locked in a basement for years to leave wounds.
“It’s hard to look at someone whose professional life is wildly successful and who on Instagram looks like he’s living the happiest life in the world.
“What you discover is just like with alcohol, there’s not enough alcohol in all the liquor stores in the world to fill that thing up, and in Jennifer’s case I don’t think there’s enough followers or movies or records or anything like that to do that to do. still that part of you that still feels longing and pain. That’s the work you have to do alone.’