‘Hit, manhandled’: Jennifer Lopez reveals shock abuse claims

Jennifer Lopez has told how she hit “rock bottom” as she opened up about the real reason for her previous split with Ben Affleck.

Jennifer Lopez has revealed she was “manhandled and hit” by an ex partner.

The singer, now married to actor Ben Affleck, made the shock abuse claims in her candid new documentary, The Greatest Love Story Never Told.

In emotional scenes, Lopez opened up about her previous relationship difficulties and how she was subjected to “rough” and “disrespectful” treatment.

Jennifer Lopez at the the premiere of her movie This is Me... Now: A Love Story earlier this month. Picture: AFP

She said: “Being thrown around and manhandled like that. It’s not fun.

“I was never in a relationship where I got beat up, thank God, but I’ve definitely been manhandled and hit and a couple of other unsavoury things. Rough. Disrespectful.”

During the documentary, a tearful Lopez said the abusive behaviour left her in a “vulnerable place”.

Jennifer Lopez opens up about her past in her candid new documentary. Picture: Supplied

The star says she was manhandled and hit by a former partner. Picture: Supplied

A friend replied: “It’s a personal journey babe, that will relate to so many women who go through abuse. You’re talking about women accepting less than they deserve.”

Lopez, 54, was married three times before her marriage to Affleck and has dated a number of high profile stars.

However, she didn’t clarify who had mistreated her.

In the doco, she told how she hit “rock bottom” in previous relationships.

The multi-talented star says she hit rock bottom in past relationships. Picture: Getty Images

“There were people in my life who said ‘I love you’ and then didn’t do things that were in line with the word love.

“You have to hit rock bottom, where you’re in situations that are so uncomfortable and are so painful that you finally go, ‘I don’t want this anymore’.”

Lopez was frank about her love life, saying the public may have viewed her multiple splits as a form of “compulsive behaviour”.

Jennifer Lopez gets emotional in the raw documentary. Picture: Supplied

“I’ve been married four times now,” she said. “I’m sure people watching from the outside were like, ‘What is this f-----g girl’s problem?’

“You saw kind of a compulsive behaviour. What I portrayed to the world was, ‘Oh this didn’t work out and it’s fine and I’m good and they’re good and they were great and I was great’. And all of that was kind of bulls---t.”

“I wasn’t struggling in my professional life. I feel like I had control of that and that’s why I put a lot into it.

“But when I went home at night, and when I was dealing with my own life and my own demons and my own relationships, it was such a f-----g struggle.”

Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck in 2002 before their sudden split, which left the star devastated. Picture: AFP

The superstar also addressed her shock previous split from Affleck just days before their planned wedding in 2003.

At the time, the pair, nicknamed Bennifer, were the world’s biggest celebrity couple.

“Ben and I, we broke up three days before our wedding,” Lopez said in The Greatest Love Story Never Told.

“We had a big wedding planned — 14 ushers and bridesmaids — and three days before, we just crumbled under the pressure.”

Affleck shared in the Amazon Prime doco that the reason for their split was “the massive amount of scrutiny around our private life.”

The pair eventually found happiness. Picture: Instagram/Jlo

Lopez went on to marry singer Marc Anthony, the father of her twins, while Affleck had three children with actress Jennifer Garner.

After years apart and their respective divorces, Lopez and Affleck reconciled, marrying in Las Vegas in 2022.

Speaking in the doco about the fallout of their 2003 split, Lopez recalled her pain.

“For all those years it was really hard because I didn’t just feel like I lost the love of my life, I felt like I lost the best friend that I’d ever had.

“And I couldn’t talk to him for so many years and that was the hardest part.”

Jennifer Lopez says the public may have viewed her multiple splits as “compulsive behaviour”. Picture: AFP

Affleck said he was initially reluctant about showing their relationship on social media when they finally reconciled.

“Getting back together, I said, ‘Listen, one of the things I don’t want is a relationship on social media,’” he said.

“Then, I sort of realised it’s not a fair thing to ask. It’s sort of like, you’re gonna marry a boat captain and you go, ‘Well, I don’t like the water.’”

The actor-director also compared his own battles with alcoholism to his wife’s struggle with feeling of “longing and pain”.

“Jen felt emotionally neglected as a child,” he said.

“It’s a hard thing to look at somebody whose professional life is wildly successful and on Instagram looks like they’re living the happiest life in the world.

“The thing you discover, like you do with alcohol, is that there isn’t enough alcohol in all the liquor stores in the world to fill up that thing.

“In Jennifer’s case, I don’t think there’s enough followers or movies or records or any of that stuff to still that part of you that still feels a longing and a pain. Ultimately that’s the work you’ve got to do on your own.”

Originally published as ‘Hit, manhandled’: Jennifer Lopez reveals shock abuse claims