There are few pairs that have embodied the frenzied obsession with celebrity duos quite like Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez, one of the super couples of the early-aughts tabloid era, whose rekindled romance after 20-plus years has delighted hopeless romantics and pop-culture fanatics alike. Over the course of two decades, Affleck and Lopez’s relationship has touched on nearly every storyline of a Hollywood romance, from their flashy early courtship and messy breakup to their fairy-tale reconciliation and eventual marriage. The public fascination with their relationship has inspired everything from a South Park episode to the creation of a joint moniker (hello, Bennifer!), making the duo a cultural touchstone in the process.
Which might explain why Lopez (and a seemingly begrudging but loving Affleck) decided to tell the story of their relationship in a recent documentary, The Greatest Love Story Never Told. The film, streaming on Amazon Prime and drawing its name from a description of their romance in one of the real-life love letters Affleck wrote Lopez, is ostensibly about the making of her bombastic musical movie This Is Me…Now and its accompanying album, released in February. But really, it sets out to make the case that Bennifer might be one of the greatest love stories of our khbrknews.
Read more: Why Jennifer Lopez Remains the Patron Saint of Romantic Comedies
Like This Is Me…Now, The Greatest Love Story Never Told can be bewildering in its ambition and chaotic in its storytelling, but there was one scene that shocked me into seriously examining the epic romance between Affleck and Lopez. Early on in the documentary, Lopez shares with her team the Christmas gift that Affleck gave to her in 2021, an extensive scrapbook chronicling every picture, email and letter the two have shared since they first met in 2001. The moment itself, though casual, is breathtaking when you realize that Affleck, a two-khbrknews Oscar winner so known for his seemingly downtrodden…
