Jennifer Lopez recently revealed that she and husband Ben Affleck both suffer from “PTSD” due to the intense media attention they received during their first stab at romance together in the early 2000s.

“We both have PTSD” Lopez, 54, told Variety on Wednesday while promoting her new album “This Is Me … Now” and the accompanying short film, which delves into her relationship with Affleck.

“But we’re older now,” the “Let’s Get Loud” hitmaker said. “We’re wiser. 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.”

According to Lopez, not everyone was thrilled with her choice to put her relationship with Affleck, 51, in the spotlight for her new project.

“As artists, we have to follow our heart and this is me following my heart and doing something that maybe everybody didn’t think was the best idea, but I had to do it,” Lopez told the outlet.

Lopez and Affleck famously first dated in 2002 and became engaged before splitting in 2004.

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“We both have PTSD” Lopez, 54, told Variety on Wednesday while promoting her new album “This Is Me … Now” and the accompanying short film which delves into her relationship with the “Good Will Hunting” star. jlo/Instagram

Lopez and Affleck famously first dated in 2002 and became engaged before splitting in 2004. Vince Bucci/Getty Images

Following the breakup, Affleck went on to marry Jennifer Garner in 2005. The couple had three children — Violet, 18, Seraphina, 14, and Samuel,11 — before their divorce in 2018.

Lopez, for her part, married fellow musician Marc Anthony in 2004, having twins Max and Emme, 15, with him before the couple were divorced in 2014.

“Gigli” co-stars Affleck and Lopez reunited nearly two decades later and married in July 2022 in Las Vegas after a three-month engagement.


According to Jennifer Lopez, the couple’s PTSD arose from the amount of media attention they got. Kevin Winter/Getty Images

The “Gigli” co-stars reunited nearly two decades later and secretly married in July 2022 in Las Vegas after a three-month engagement. jlo/Instagram
Lopez and Affleck later staged a more elaborate ceremony the following month in front of friends and family.

Earlier this month, Lopez gushed about how much she enjoyed working with Affleck while attending the Elle Women in Hollywood Awards.

“And nobody knows my story more than he does,” Lopez told Entertainment Tonight. “So we were able to kind of sit down and really dig into it, in a way that I don’t think any other writer could’ve done with me.”

While attending the Elle Women in Hollywood Awards earlier this month, Lopez gushed to “Entertainment Tonight” about how much she enjoyed working with her “Argo” alum husband and that they work “very well together.” Kevin Winter/Getty Images

“And nobody knows my story more than he does,” Lopez simpered to the outlet.“So we were able to kind of sit down and really dig into it, in a way that I don’t think any other writer could’ve done with me.” jlo/Instagram

According to the “On the 6” songstress, the entire project left her “on edge.”

“This project was something I didn’t really plan,” Lopez admitted. “When the music was done I just thought to myself, ‘There’s more of a story to be told here. There’s been a bigger journey than just a love story here.’

“And so it became a much bigger, fuller project, with an incredible message,” the “Maid in Manhattan” star added. “And I realized I had to really get personal to tell it.”

In a loved-up teaser trailer released last month, viewers can hear a snippet of a letter to the “Jenny From the Block” singer sent by Affleck in 2002. Michael Kovac/Getty Images for LACMA

“This project was something I didn’t really plan,” Lopez admitted. “When the music was done I just thought to myself, ‘There’s more of a story to be told here. There’s been a bigger journey than just a love story here.’” Arnaldo Magnani/Getty Images

In a loved-up teaser trailer, viewers can see a letter that Affleck seemingly wrote to Lopez in 2002.

“Life’s tough but you’re sweet,” the note read. “Thanks for the gift. Hope you like the flowers. You told me you could never have enough. I believe you.”

Lopez later told Vogue: “This album is the most honest thing I have done, a culmination of who I am as a person and an artist.”

“People think they know things about what happened to me along the way — but they really have no idea, and a lot of times they get it so wrong,” she continued.

“This Is Me … Now” is set to become available on Feb. 16 with the accompanying film premiering on Prime the same day.