Is Ben Affleck To Blame For Jennifer Lopez And Leah Remini's Fallout? We Unpack The Rumors

Leah Remini and Jennifer Lopez were practically joined at the hip since the day they met — until, suddenly, they weren't. These two were pretty much the gold standard of Hollywood friendships, so fans were shocked when rumors of a falling out started circulating. And the purported culprit? None other than Lopez's decision to tie the knot with Ben Affleck.

Lopez and Remini's supposed rift was something nobody saw coming, especially given their public declarations of their BFF-hood. "It was one of those instant chemistry things, where you just feel like, 'I love this person. I love being around this person. This person makes me laugh,'" Lopez shared with ET in December 2018. "The Kings of Queens" alum, naturally felt the same way, and told "The View" that she and Lopez had grown to consider each other family. "We're very close, like sisters are," she said. "But in a different way that sisters are."

Ironically, their friendship's origin story involves the men in their lives: Lopez's ex-husband Marc Anthony, who was already pals with Remini and her husband Angelo Pagan, played matchmaker for the quartet. While Lopez and Anthony ended up splitting, her friendship with Remini remained strong. Little did they know that years down the line, another man would make a significant impact on their friendship, only this time, the result wasn't pretty.

Leah Remini might have been the one to make Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck Instagram official when they rekindled their romance, but that doesn't mean she's an automatic Bennifer stan. Sources close to the pair divulged to Radar Online that Remini was against their marriage from the start — a stance that didn't sit well with the "Second Act" star.

"Leah isn't a fan of Ben's. They don't get along and when you go up against someone's partner, you always lose," the insider said, noting that Remini still remembers how Affleck left Lopez heartbroken during their first go-round. "Leah knows everything, all the ugly details about what went down between her best friend and Ben," they added. Lopez might have been ready to forgive and forget, but Remini hasn't and is worried history will repeat itself. She sees Affleck as a total red flag, with a source telling Page Six that Remini thinks "he is selfish and not fully committed as a partner."

Adding fuel to the fire, Remini was noticeably absent from Lopez and Affleck's wedding. While sources claimed she had to help her daughter move to college, it only raised more eyebrows. Still, despite her reported disdain for Affleck, Remini remained a good friend, refusing to answer prying questions about Lopez. "[I don't like talking about Jennifer] not because I don't love talking about my friend, but because I feel a lot of times it's for gossip purposes," she told Savannah Guthrie. 

Despite all the drama, Jennifer Lopez and Leah Remini reportedly attempted to patch things up. However, the timing was a bit suspicious as it coincided with the rumors that Lopez and Ben Affleck were on the verge of divorce. It was Remini who apparently first extended the olive branch, with a source telling Page Six that it was tough for the actor to reconnect with Lopez out of the blue, but the concern for Lopez's well-being won out. "They were friends for years. She wants to reach out to her, but she can't just call up and say, 'I told you so.'"

Unfortunately, Lopez and Remini might not go back to being as close as they once were. Gossip blogger Deuxmoi dished that a source told them Lopez didn't appreciate how Remini was over-exaggerating her place in her life. "Leah is trying to make it seem like she was some kind of fortune teller about the Ben reunion being doomed and was the brave friend who said something to J.Lo about it and therefore was iced out," Deuxmoi said. "That's not true."

Of course, it's tough to verify these claims, especially since Lopez had previously gushed about her bond with Remini. "We understand each other's lives," she said in their "The View" appearance. "We understand nuances that other people don't understand, so that also bonded us."