Jennifer Lopez Speaks Out on ‘Brutal’ Criticism She and Ben Affleck Faced in the 2000s: ‘Destroyed Our Relationship From the Inside Out’

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Jennifer Lopez has spoken out against the “brutal” criticism she and Ben Affleck faced when they were together in the early 2000s.

Speaking to Rolling Stone as the magazine’s March 2022 cover star, Lopez recalled the scrutiny she and Affleck faced from the media, much of which highlighted her Latin heritage.

“It’s funny because Ben and I were together, and we were so in love. It was one of the happiest times of my life,” she said. “But also, there was this other thing happening where we were being criticized, and it really destroyed our relationship from the inside out, because we were just too young to understand at that time what were really the most important things in life.”

As Rolling Stone’s Alex Morris noted in the profile, Lopez was dubbed a “mean-spirited bitch” in a South Park episode that made fun of her Latin heritage.

Conan O’Brien also mocked the couple when they were first linked, joking that if he had to cast stand-ins for them in a sketch, he would cast “our script intern” to play Affleck and “our cleaning lady” to portray Lopez.

“It was brutal,” Lopez said of the past vitriol. “It was brutal. It’s one of those things that you bury very deeply so you can move on and get about your business.”

Affleck and Lopez first started dating after they met on the set of Gigli in 2002, and got engaged that same year before calling it off in 2004.

Lopez later married Marc Anthony in 2004, ending the marriage in 2014, while Affleck was married to Jennifer Garner from 2005 to 2018.

The two made headlines last Spring following reports that they had rekindled their relationship and were staying together at an exclusive resort in Montana. Lopez later confirmed the rumors in a June Instagram, sharing a shot of her and Affleck kissing on her 52nd birthday.

“I don’t think we would have got back together if we thought that was where it was headed,” she told Rolling Stone regarding a future breakup.

“We feel like what we found again is so much more important, and how we protect that and how we live our lives — what to share, what not to share — is the balance that we have now, the benefit of experience and the wisdom that we gained over the years.”