They have maintained a close relationship, co-parenting their three children since their 2015 split, and now Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner will be spending even more time together as the pair are set to work alongside each other on Ben’s latest movie project.
But news of their collaboration has rocked Ben’s wife of 18 months, Jennifer Lopez, with an insider saying it feels like a ‘slap in the face’ to the Latino singer.
The source says that J Lo, 54, has come to terms with the fact Ben, 51, and his ex – who share parent duty of their three children Violet Anne, 18, Seraphina Rose, 15, and Samuel, 11 – will always have a connection, but she’s jealous of the close bond they will form again and she’s going to make Ben fully aware of her feelings on the matter.
“J Lo has totally accepted that Ben and Jen are going to be part of each other’s lives as co-parents and friendly exes, but the idea of him directing her in a movie is way more than she can handle,” they say.
They add, “For one thing it means that they’ll be spending a whole lot more time together and bonding on a totally different level, of course that makes her uneasy. She’s very territorial when it comes to Ben, it’s one thing for him to be doing things with Jen and the kids but choosing to work with her on top of all that is more than J.Lo can stand.
“Not to mention she wants to be the one working with Ben, she wants him directing her in a movie and he’s been very resistant to them teaming up so it’s a huge slap in the face that he’d be doing this with Jen.
“J.Lo can’t help but wonder if Ben’s doing this on purpose to make her feel excluded and she’s now plotting her revenge to give him a taste of his own medicine. She’s going to find a way to make him equally jealous, make no mistake about that.”

Last week, it was reported Jennifer, 51, is in negotiations to star opposite Matt Damon in Netflix crime thriller Animals, which Ben is directing. Ben is also set to produce the film with Matt, along with the company’s Dani Bernfeld. If all goes to plan, filming for the thriller could kick off in March in Los Angeles. 
The film will focus on a politician and his wife – played by Matt and Jennifer – whose son is kidnapped.
Previously, Jennifer and Ben starred in Pearl Harbour in 2001, Daredevil two years later in 2003 and Elektra in 2005, the year they got married. They enjoyed a 10-year marriage, before cracks started to appear. Shortly after the pair attended weekly marriage counselling sessions in LA, they announced their split in 2015. Ben then attended rehab for the second time for alcohol addiction – his first stint being in 2001 – and praised his ex for her support during this tough time. 
“I’m lucky to have the love of my family and friends, including my co-parent, Jen, who has supported me and cared for our kids as I’ve done the work I set out to do. This was the first of many steps being taken towards a positive recovery,” he wrote in a statement on Facebook.

In 2018, Ben checked himself into rehab for the third time and Jennifer was spotted driving him to the treatment facility. Throughout all of this, the pair continued to live at their Pacific Palisades mansion, with Ben staying at the guest house until the former couple sold it in 2019.
A year later, Ben reflected on his road to sobriety and public divorce from Jennifer, calling it “the biggest regret” of his life. But he said they will always be a part of each other’s lives.
“When you have children with somebody you’re connected to them forever,” he revealed. 
“And I’m very lucky she is the mother of my children. I’m very grateful and respectful of her. Our marriage didn’t work, and that’s difficult. Both of us really believe that it’s important for kids to see their parents respect one another and get along, whether they’re together or not.”
The insider says Ben has assured his latest wife – J Lo – who he married in July 2022, almost 20 years after their first engagement ended – that there is nothing to worry about in terms of working closely with his ex again.

“Ben swears J.Lo has nothing to worry about and insists this is strictly a professional decision that’s being made by a whole group of people, not just him. He says it comes down to her being right for this part and has nothing to do with any sort of desire he’s harbouring to spend more time with her. 
“The fact is she would be a great addition to this cast, she fits the part well and she brings the star power that investors want to see. Ben has always respected Jen’s acting ability, they’ve always been huge champions of each other’s careers and he doesn’t see why that needs to change. He’s adamant that any sort of romantic feelings between them died years ago, all they ever talk about these days are their kids or their work.”
They add that Ben feels J.Lo – who’s mum to 15-year-old twins Emma and Max with ex Marc Anthony – should feel secure enough in their relationship to understand that she’s the woman he wants to come home to.

“She’s the one he has on a pedestal, not his ex-wife, so doing this project shouldn’t be the least bit threatening to her. He really doesn’t understand the issue that J.Lo has with it because she has seen him and Jen together plenty of times, the fact that they have zero chemistry should be obvious. But J.Lo is still very triggered by this, she feels like it’s so over the line. 
“She’s been nothing but supportive of them maintaining a solid co-parenting relationship, or so she says, so it really bugs her that this is how she’s being rewarded for her maturity. And it’s not just how it makes her feel, it’s also how it looks. She’s already gotten so many people asking her about it and asking her if she’s really okay with it. 
“She has to play it off like it’s totally fine with her because she’s not going to give anyone the satisfaction of seeing her weakness but it’s downright humiliating. She can’t help but feel like he is doing this to test her, because she just can’t wrap her head around why else he’d do this. She knows full well that he wouldn’t be okay if she suddenly wanted to work with Marc Anthony or any one of her exes. She’s furious about this and giving Ben a very hard time.”