Few celebrity relationships have been as complicated as the one between Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck. The couple, affectionately known as “Bennifer,” dominated Hollywood in the early aughts after they met in 2001. Their 2002 engagement was welcome news for fans, but their canceled wedding in 2003 led to their split in 2004. Affleck moved on with Jennifer Garner, whom he married in 2005. While Garner and Affleck were also beloved by fans, their relationship wasn’t so perfect, as Affleck was still hung up on Lopez.

Garner and Affleck spent a decade together as husband and wife before the couple filed for divorce in 2015. They were able to put aside their differences and co-parent their three children together, something both exes have appreciated after their split. However, some fans are angry on Garner’s behalf after discovering that Affleck had been holding onto the love letters he wrote to Lopez during their relationship, even though he had moved on with Garner. While this would give Garner a reason for anger, it’s not news to the “13 Going On 30” actor, as a source told the Daily Mail in 2024, “Jennifer [Garner] knew going into her marriage how Ben felt about JLo, and it was not a secret.”

Affleck held onto keepsakes from his relationship with JLo

Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez delighted “Bennifer” fans in 2021 after they reunited and got engaged for the second time, and this second round seemed like a long time coming. The Daily Mail source claimed Affleck never really got over Lopez, as evidenced by keeping the love letters he wrote her during their first relationship. While this news was confusing for Garner’s fans, it wasn’t new information for her, as she knew all about Affleck’s feelings for JLo during their marriage.

“Ben would love for the outside world not to know about his love letters, but he is a romantic, and as much as he loved Jennifer [Garner], he never got over JLo,” the source said. “No one is surprised by this at all. Jennifer is okay with it, JLo obviously loves it, and everyone notices that all this was meant to be.”

Affleck made good use of those love letters in 2021, as he bound them together into a book as a Christmas gift for Lopez. Affleck wasn’t thrilled at Lopez sharing the letters in her documentary “The Greatest Love Story Ever Told,” but Lopez was too enamored with the gift to not show it off.

There’s no bad blood between Garner and Lopez

Even though Ben Affleck was still hanging on to his feelings for Jennifer Lopez during his marriage to Jennifer Garner, it seems the two Jennifers have put aside their differences in the pursuit of a friendly relationship. Garner even knew that Affleck was planning to ask JLo to marry him since he had discussed it with their family beforehand. After their engagement, a source told Us Weekly what Garner thought of the couple tying the knot.

“JLo has Jennifer Garner’s seal of approval,” the source said. “JLo thinks Jennifer is a kind and wonderful person and an amazing mother.”

The respect goes both ways, as Lopez has been very open about how much she appreciates Garner’s co-parenting relationship with Affleck and their three kids. “[Jennifer Garner] is an amazing co-parent, and [Garner and Affleck] work really well together,” Lopez told Vogue in 2022. Garner, Lopez, and Affleck seem to have gotten into a groove as a blended family, as another source told Us Weekly in 2024: “They want to foster and nurture those relationships and will do whatever it takes to show their support.”