Ben Affleck was never particularly popular in Jennifer Lopez’s inner circle of confidants, but the two tolerated the relationship anyway – including Benny Medina, who was once the most vocal critic of the “Argo” star.
Lopez’s longtime manager’s disdain for Affleck, we hear, goes back to the star couple’s failed engagement in the 2000s.
“The two can’t stand each other. They don’t get along and there is still animosity,” a source told Page Six.
Medina was instrumental in turning Lopez – who began her career as a dancer on the ’90s sketch show “In Living Color” – into a global A-list superstar, but she split from him in 2003.
Sources told us that Affleck played a role in that decision at the time.
A few years after she and Affleck called off their engagement in 2004, Lopez rehired Medina and since then the showbiz star has been one of her closest confidants.
However, he has apparently kept quiet about Bennifer 2.0. Another source told us that Medina has “kept her mouth shut” this time around about their rekindled romance and marriage.
“His attitude was, ‘I’m not going to say anything.’ (There was) no ‘good for you,’ but (he) wasn’t negative either,” the source claimed.
“He knows her and he knew she would marry him no matter what, so what’s the point?” the source told us.
However, “Bennifer 2.0” led to the destruction of Lopez’s friendship with her longtime best friend Leah Remini, whom she met through her ex-husband Marc Anthony.
A source previously told us that Remini encouraged Lopez to think about the reasons for their split before getting back together with the “Gone Girl” star.
“Because he’s selfish and not fully committed as a partner. J.Lo was so angry that she cut all ties,” they claimed. (Lopez did not invite Remini to the wedding.)
The two reunited this year, with Remini, according to the source, supporting Lopez and Affleck amid their alleged marital problems.
“Nobody except (Lopez’s) mother likes Ben Affleck. He’s an asshole extraordinaire,” the second source said.
The insider pointed to the couple’s current situation. Sources recently told us that “The Town” star waited to file for divorce from Lopez so as not to humiliate her further, but it’s too little, too late.
“She is angry. He humiliated her. He was the one who took the initiative to reunite,” a source previously told us.
Our second source added: “That definitely wasn’t on her bingo card. She would have clawed someone’s eyes out if they told her they were splitting up after less than two years.”
Representatives for Lopez, Affleck and Medina declined to comment.