Jennifer Lopez has defied critics with the third part of her media homage to her husband, Ben Affleck, revealing their relationship works now because they are ‘totally different people’ and never ‘fell out of love’ when they first split in the Noughties.

On Monday, J. Lo dropped The Greatest Love Story Never Told on Prime Video, following on from This Is Me…Now: A Love Story, a semi autobiographical ‘musical rom-com action sci-fi’ that served as a visual accompaniment to her single, This Is Me… Now.

The singer, 54, has been lauded by critics for the documentary, which they say ‘delivers precisely the revelatory perspective that its counterparts lack’, yet she admitted those around her thought she was ‘stupid’ for taking on the three-part tribute.

What seems most apparent, however, as she takes on her critics in the show, is one of the biggest sceptics of her project is her husband.

While Lopez is hellbent on declaring her love for Affleck, she admits her husband is ‘uncomfortable’ being her muse, while the actor, 51, openly confesses he finds their moments together ‘sacred and special because it’s private’.

Jennifer Lopez has continued on her mission to document her love story with Ben Affleck , releasing her new documentary, The Greatest Love Story Never Told

The couple’s love story started in 2002 (pictured) when they dated while filming the movie Jersey Girl. They became engaged the following year but broke up in 2004

The couple’s love story started in 2002 when they dated while filming the movie Jersey Girl. They became engaged the following year but broke up in 2004.

Yet it was meant to be for the couple, known collectively as Bennifer, who found their way back to one another in July 2021, marrying just one year later.

They detailed the highs and lows of their rekindled romance in Lopez’s new documentary, where she reveals the real reason the couple rekindled things.

She said: ‘We’re totally different people now and we’re the same and we have the same love 100 percent. Like I’d never fallen out of love with you. I had to just put it over here.’

Lopez also revealed that she was called ‘stupid’ by many around her when she announced the project, admitting while she ‘didn’t need to’ create the three-part homage, she ‘wanted’ to, in order to publicly profess her love for Affleck.

She began the documentary by mocking her messy love life, noting that because she’d been married four times fans were no doubt thinking “what is this girl’s problem? It’s bulls**t.”‘

In a bid to silence the naysayers, she revealed: ‘I have decided to tell my story, or tell my truth, that I have never shared with anybody in the world, the truth about my personal life,’ adding that she was ‘very inspired’ to create new music after rekindling her romance with Affleck.

Surprisingly, while she wins over movie critics and colleagues with the offering, it seems the main naysayer is the very man she’s created it for, her husband.

Now body language expert Judi James has given her take on the candid scenes, revealing Jennifer has positioned herself to ‘squeeze maximum drama out of her “truth”‘, while Ben is so ‘uncomfortable’ on camera that he comes across as ‘childlike.’

The Greatest Love Story Never Told takes viewers behind-the-scenes with Jennifer  as she independently produces a new album and movie that explores her 20-year journey to self-love.

Elsewhere in the documentary, Lopez burst into tears as she confessed what her husband made her see in herself was ‘moving’

Affleck, 51, cheekily mocked his wife Lopez, 54, in her new documentary The Greatest Love Story Never Told

Yet Judi revealed she could sense the underlying motive in the show, sharing: ‘This documentary appears to want to clear up any misguided illusions that being unfeasibly rich, talented, beautiful and successful plus married to the love of your life might be anything like the walk in the park it seems to us outsiders.

‘J-Lo’s words and her body language squeeze maximum drama out of her “truth” , with the overkill music soundtrack draining every last emotional drop.’

Of the singer’s vulnerability on screen, Judi continued: ‘Bare-faced to camera, J. Lo shows herself crying; looking scared and even eating and crying at the same time.

‘She tells us Ben is uncomfortable being her ‘muse’, which seems to put him in the same marital category as Bianca Censori only without the sheer bodysuits.

Fans have shared concerns that Bianca is being manipulated by her rapper husband Kanye after a series of of outings in outrageous outfits and out-of-character behaviour.

Judi went on: ‘Ben’s own words don’t quite synchronise with his wife’s.

‘It has been obvious from his body language during their first romance and again now during their constant PDAs both on the red carpet and in the streets that Ben is not a huge fan of being under constant press surveillance.

‘During a one-to-one with the camera his body language looks uncomfortable to the point of childlike. He squints his eyes, tilts his head and clasps his hands close to his head in a ritual of what looks like coyness.

‘His “tell” word seems to be ‘private’, while J. Lo seems to be using this documentary to spill her inner thoughts and emotions to the camera.’

Despite their conflicting views on privacy, Judi noted that the pair rely on each other  for ’emotional survival.’

She mused: ‘Ben is shown in the role of supporter, coach and even mentor.

‘While she leans against his ribs as though feeding off his energy, confidence and self-belief he stands tall with chest puffed in a gesture of alpha protector and kisses her on the head.

‘Their love story is shown as sweet but also as necessary to emotional survival.

‘J. Lo seems to need that support and those kisses, too. Describing herself as “terrified”, “stressed”, “broken” and even “older” we are shown glimpses of her in those various states to suggest what Ben is dealing with and helping.’

Throughout the show, the actor makes it clear that he doesn’t like shining the spotlight on their love life, calling their private moments ‘sacred’ and rolling his eyes when he recalls Lopez sharing all their old love notes with her friends and colleagues.

Revealing why he’s agreed to take part in the documentary, Ben shared: ‘Jen was really inspired by this experience which is how artists do this work. I know as an artist and a director I definitely do the same thing.

‘But things that are private, I’d always felt are sacred and special because in part they’re private… So this was something of an adjustment for me.’

Elsewhere in the documentary, Lopez shared the incredibly romantic gift her husband gave her for their first Christmas back together, revealing he gave her a book of every love note and email he’d sent her when they were first dating, a gift he dubbed ‘the greatest love story never told’.

She mused: ‘It became our Bible and we left it there in the studio and people would thumb through it.’

The Prime Video doc is the third installment of her $20M media homage to her husband Ben Affleck , which includes the semi-autobiographical film, This Is Me… Now: A Love Story, chornicallingher highly scrutinised love life

However, the response so far to the third part of the project has been surprisingly positive in comparison, as critics branded the doc as ‘compelling’

The show then cut to singers Ink and Faangs talking about their experience reading the book before cutting back to a disgruntled looking Affleck recalling the time he realised Lopez had shared the book with her friends.

He mused: ‘I came to the house one day and all the producers were round, I went down there and the book I had given her was there.

‘She was like “I’ve been reading and this is the inspiration, I’ve been showing them the book.” I was like “you’ve been showing all the musicians all those letters?” and they were like “yeah, we call you Pen Affleck!” I was like “oh my god…”‘

He continued: ‘I did really find the beauty and the poetry and the irony in the fact that it’s “the greatest love story never told” and if you’re making a record about it, that seems kind of like telling it!’

Lopez then reasoned: ‘I wanted to share it with the world. This is about bringing the album to life in a different way.’

Really hammering home his feelings on the show, in the final moments of the documentary he confesses: ‘I don’t really love being in the making-of documentary about my personal life.

‘Which is why I’m so relieved that it’s not really… seems like I might be in this, but I’m not really.

‘I was worrying for no reason. The movie [This Is Me…Now: A Love Story] is not about me, it was about the ability to love yourself and that love story is a lot f***ing harder to find than Prince Charming.’

Affleck also revealed he initially asked his wife to keep their relationship offline when they decided to give things another ago.

While navigating their reconciliation, two decades following their first engagement, the two-time Oscar winner admitted he had zero interest in becoming a fixture on his wife’s social media accounts.

‘Getting back together, I said, ‘Listen, one of the things I don’t want is a relationship on social media,’ the actor recalled.

‘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.”‘

He continued: ‘We’re just two people with different kinds of approaches trying to learn to compromise.’

She shared that ‘we both have PTSD’ from their initial dating experience, but explained that in their present life as a married couple they’re ‘older’ and ‘wiser’ (pictured in 2003)

Ultimately, Lopez respected his wishes, and has only posted a small handful of snaps featuring him, including a raunchy shirtless photo last Father’s Day and a sweet video of them singing Sam Cooke’s (What A) Wonderful World in the car on his birthday.

During the documentary, the mother-of-two acknowledged Affleck’s discomfort with stepping in the spotlight as a couple after facing intense media scrutiny when they first dated between 2002 and 2004.

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

Elsewhere in the documentary, Lopez burst into tears as she confessed what her husband made her see in herself was ‘moving’.

Welling up, she revealed: ‘What he said and what he saw in me, and what he made me believe about myself, only comes from love.

‘Because nobody else could have made me see that about myself. It’s very moving. Because I didn’t think much about myself and so the world didn’t think much of me. That lined up.’

She said of their reunion: ‘We’re totally different people now and we’re the same and we have the same love 100 percent. Like I’d never fallen out of love with you. I had to just put it over here.’

Affleck also addressed his alcohol issues in the documentary, comparing his struggle with his wife’s ‘need for love’.

He shared: ‘The thing you discover, like you do with alcohol, is that there isn’t enough alcohol in all the liquor stores in the world to fill up that thing.

‘In Jennifer’s case I don’t think there’s enough followers or records or any of that stuff to still that part of you that still feels a longing and a pain.’

It wasn’t all serious, however, as the couple shared a lighthearted moment when Lopez explained her plans for the trio of projects.

J.Lo read: ‘Opening her eyes in a hospital bed, younger, age 28, and she wasn’t emaciated, but exhausted.’

‘Technically you weren’t 28, but…’ Affleck interrupted as Lopez continued: ‘Yep. All her friends are. But you were. You were. That’s why you were not as smart as me.’ Ben laughed: ‘I love that you want to be played younger, even in the autobiographical.’

She replied: ‘This is not my autobiographical. This is meta. This is me using some of my story.

‘I see. Semi-autobiographical. It’s your story, but younger,’ he said, while J.Lo muttered: ‘Idiot.’

When it came to casting her movie, Lopez struggled with enlisting celebrity cameos, as she shared which A-listers were given the opportunity.

From reality stars, to singers and actors, Lopez invited a range of celebrities to take part in her Prime movie.

One of the singer’s team members claimed Snoop Dogg, Khloe Kardashian, Taylor Swift, Bad Bunny, Vanessa Hudgens, Lizzo and Ariana Grande were either unavailable or said no following her offer.

Lopez also wanted Jason Momoa and Jennifer Coolidge to star in her movie.

Big names who appeared in her move included: Jane Fonda (Sagittarious), Trevor Noah (Libra), Kim Petras (Virgo), Post Malone (Leo), Keke Palmer (Scorpio), Sofia Vergara (Cancer), Jenifer Lewis (Gemini), Jay Shetty (Aries), Neil deGrasse Tyson (Taurus) and Sadhguru (Pisces).

Lopez’s beloved husband played Rex Stone/ Biker, while her long-time friend Fat Joe played her therapist in the movie.

Lopez shelled out a staggering £16million ($20million) to fund This Is Me…Now: A Love Story, a semi autobiographical ‘musical rom-com action sci-fi’ documenting her love

In December, Lopez admitted she and Affleck ‘both have PTSD’ from the glare of the spotlight on their first romance.

After their broken engagement, they both went on to marry and divorce other people before eventually finding their way back into each other’s arms.

She shared that ‘we both have PTSD’ from their initial experience, but explained that in their present life as a married couple they’re ‘older’ and ‘wiser.’

J-Lo added: ‘We also know what’s important, what’s really important in life, and it’s not so much what other people think. It’s about being true to who you are.’

Lopez and Affleck first met on the set of Gigli and embarked on a relationship that became a flashpoint of attention.

Their eye-catching public appearances, accompanied by the box office disaster of Gigli, were the subject of constant conversation.

Jennifer poured fuel on the fire with the release of This Is Me… Then, which was dedicated to her boyfriend and featured songs about him including Dear Ben.

‘Bennifer’ became a lightning rod for adulation and then mockery, including a memorably acidic parody of them on an episode of South Park.

Trey Parker, co-creator of the cartoon, later asserted he heard gossip that the production assistants started quoting the spoof on the set of one of J-Lo’s films.

‘She got so mad and had to fire people,’ alleged Trey, who is also one of the voice stars on the show. ‘But she kept hearing it in the distance.’

The couple got engaged near the end of 2002 but broke the engagement in late 2003 before ending their relationship entirely in 2004.

In the intervening years, Lopez married and divorced her third ex-husband Marc Anthony, with whom she welcomed her 15-year-old twins Max and Emme.

Meanwhile, Affleck married and divorced Jennifer Garner, with whom he amicably co-parents three children – Violet, 18, Seraphina, 14, and Samuel, 11.

The Greatest Love Story Never Told is available on Prime Video.