Ben Affleck’s ‘last act of compassion’ towards Jennifer Lopez revealed: Friends say he ‘took the high road’ after the singer suffered a series of personal and professional humiliations

After months of exhausting leaks and counterattacks from their respective camps, Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck are officially separated, once again.

But if you thought Lopez’s decision to finally file for divorce on Tuesday would put an end to this petty information war, think again.

Now it seems that all is lost: each party blames the other for the collapse of the two-year marriage.

The latest sensational revelation comes from a friend of the former couple who claims that Affleck permitted Lopez will take the final step in an act of “compassion” towards his ex-wife.

“Ben knew Jennifer was going to file for divorce. He wasn’t surprised at all. In fact, he allowed her to do it,” the friend told the Mail exclusively.

In fact, it was an act of generosity, says the friend, who added that “Jennifer was more worried about how (the split) will affect her career, what fans will think and what the press will write.”

Lopez has faced multiple professional and personal calamities this year.

Her first studio album in a decade, ‘This Is Me… Now’, entered at number 38 on the Billboard 200 chart before fading into irrelevance.

An accompanying musical film of the same name was panned by critics, as was her Amazon Prime documentary, “The Greatest Love Story Never Told,” about her romance with Affleck.

Meanwhile, in May, as rumours swirled about the strength of the 55-year-old singer’s marriage, her planned 30-date tour was cancelled, with some reports suggesting she had struggled to fill seats.

Meanwhile, major makeup chain Sephora has told the singer that her brand, JLo Beauty, must disappear from its stores by the end of the year, following poor sales results. And Lopez’s recent film, Atlas, currently has a dismal 19 percent rating on review site Rotten Tomatoes.

“The couple initially discussed filing a joint lawsuit,” the source told the Mail. “But seeing all the backlash and hate Jennifer was already receiving for the documentary, film, album and tour, Ben took the easy way out and let her file for divorce so it wouldn’t look like it was his fault things hadn’t worked out. It was his final act of compassion for her.”

The source certainly offers a sympathetic view of Affleck.

And while some were quick to blame the split on JLo’s apparent obsession with stardom (and her incompatibility with Affleck’s desire for a more private life), not everyone agrees.

On Wednesday, another close source told the Mail: “He was impossible to marry. His friends think he is selfish, surly, impossible to please most of the time and negative.”

“(JLo) was constantly trying to cheer him up, to cheer him up, it was exhausting,” they added. “He is a big mouth, he loves to hear himself talk and brag. She was a great audience, most of the time she hung on his every word, but she is not as young and impressionable as she used to be.”

Lopez found the many months of speculation about their relationship to be “personally humiliating” and ultimately felt she had no choice but to acknowledge that they were over.

Affleck has long battled addiction, with friends telling the Mail in June of their fears that he might even be drinking again.

After quickly rekindling their relationship in 2022, JLo and Affleck tied the knot in Las Vegas in July and purchased a $60 million home in Beverly Hills, moving in with their respective children.

Rumors of trouble in paradise began circulating this spring.

In May, Affleck moved out of the marital home and into a $100,000-a-month rental in Brentwood. The couple put their Beverly Hills mansion up for sale, and Affleck bought a new home in Los Angeles for $20.5 million on Lopez’s birthday, which she didn’t attend.

JLo’s divorce papers, which she filed in Los Angeles without a lawyer, show the couple has been living apart since April.