We [Jennifer Lopez and I] were dating right at the moment when magazines were expanding and they realized that there was a much bigger market than they had exploited before. They needed content. Relationships became big stories. [We] became a bigger and bigger story because everybody’s covering it until it reaches this point of over-saturation. … The public asks, “Why are these two people shoving their relationship in our faces?” They ask this despite the fact that I’m trying pretty hard to be hidden at this point because it’s become pretty clear to me that this is a disaster in terms of my emotional life.

— Ben Affleck
“I Have a Strong Sense of Where I Want to Go”
October 2007 Parade

Why It’s Moronic

Now that a few years have passed since Bennifer fever and both parties have moved onto new couplings, it’s pretty easy for Ben Affleck to claim that he never wanted the attention his relationship garnered (ha ha, “garner”ed). As a matter of fact, he claims he wanted his relationship to be private.

If that were the case, why would he even have considered inserting a full-page ad of his idolatry for “Jenny from the Block” (is it okay to roll my eyes?) in the Hollywood Reporter? He easily could’ve whispered sweet nothings—if "sweet nothings" means effusive use of generous adjectives—but instead chose to proclaim his “honor and pleasure” in knowing her within a trade rag read by 30,000 industry types. Some of Ben’s exact words were: “You have shown kindness, dedication, diligence, humility, graciousness of spirit, beauty in courage, great empathy, astonishing talent, real poise and true grace.” He also said, “I only wish I were lucky enough to be in all your movies.”

Boy, he really didn’t use foresight when penning this love letter. That’s a weird thing to have in the history books. I think he lies today about his desire to have had a private relationship then. Whether stoked by the iron fist of J. Lo or desired by both, the attention was welcomed and accommodated. I recall a Diane Sawyer interview of the couple that yielded little more than whether their parents had met and “Ooh, a pink sapphire engagement ring.” (Meanwhile, didn't most of us want to know the really important things, like how finances are protected when dating celebs jointly purchase homes... or whether J. Lo gives directions in the sack?)

This couple nurtured the frenzy surrounding their affair, and my guess is that Ben is a little embarrassed about that period in his life. I also imagine that he’ll be running for office one day and is motivated to start playing down the fiasco now so there’s a record of manufactured humility.

Ben should stick to talking about government and politics; it’s where he shines. (No joke.) His wife, on the other hand, is an embarrassment to the art of the interview... her baby-talk-filled September appearance on The Martha Stewart Show (AKA The Cupcake Incident) had me cringing for days.