Did Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck split over her marriage documentary?
Los Angeles, California - Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck's recent divorce announcement has often been blamed on a documentary about their marriage that some saw as invasive. But what's the truth behind Ben's involvement in the project?
The February Amazon Prime Video documentary film, The Greatest Love Story Never Told, served as a behind-the-scenes look at the Atlas actor's music video project This Is Me...Now: A Love Story.
In it, Ben appears uncomfortable revealing intimate details about their relationship, not too surprising considering "excessive media attention" was the reason the two gave for their first split in 2004.
Despite this, a source told PEOPLE on Sunday that the Gone Girl actor actually had creative control over the documentary project.
Not only was the supposedly privacy-conscious Ben apparently cool with the production, but he was also a "driving force" behind the project, with insiders reporting that he was heavily involved in the creative process.
"He was the one who had control, pretty much," said one source.
"[Ben] was very much in favor [of the project], and he was a driving force for [Jennifer] to do the movie and the album," they said, adding that Ben "insisted on the documentary" even though "it looked like he was hesitant and almost surprised by it" on-screen.
Even more shocking, insiders say that the behind-the-scenes project wasn't even J.Lo's idea!
Was the documentary project even Jennifer Lopez's idea to begin with?
"The documentary was Ben's idea for his company, Artists Equity," the source said, noting how Jennifer's team "didn't want to do it" since they were so focused on her album and music video rollouts.
"He was playing the role of playing the regular guy and meanwhile, he was the engine in back of it," the insider continued.
Supposedly, Ben even "took it away from the director so he could have the narrative he wanted out there" and was "so involved" and proud of Jennifer throughout filming.
"But in the doc, it looks like he was surprised," the source added.
What do you think – could everyone have gotten the narrative around the Bennifer divorce wrong after all?
Cover photo: VALERIE MACON / AFP