Jennifer Lopez, Ben Affleck
Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck arrive for the 75th Annual Academy Awards at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, California March 23, 2003. REUTERS/Fred Prouser

The "Bennifer" days are long gone, but that does not stop Ben Affleck from talking about his former relationship with Jennifer Lopez. He recently re-opened that chapter in his book, and precisely to state how his acting career went down hills during and after his relationship with the Puerto Rican star.

"If you went by what people said … I wasn't cool and I wasn't talented, and I was, like, the lowest rung of cool and talented that you could possibly be in the public consciousness at that time," Affleck said during the sports talk show "Any Given Wednesday" this week. "I had broken up with Jennifer Lopez and I had, like, three or four movies in a row that had bombed," he told host Bill Simmons.

Before we go on to give examples, let us remind you of the short-lived Bennifer days.

Affleck and Lopez dated for nearly two years from 2002 to 2004. During that time, the couple got engaged and was known as power couple "Bennifer" by the media and fans. They began dating after they met on the set of "Gigli."

The couple later appeared on the "Jenny from the Block" music video and "Jersey Girl" together. Lopez and Affleck were set to tie the knot on September 14, 2003, but called off their wedding just four days before the big day due to "excessive media attention." Bennifer officially called it quits in January 2004. According to varios reports, JLo considered the split her "first real heartbreak."

It was around the time of their split that Affleck's acting career became a mess, according to the interview. Some of his box-office bombs include "Gigli" and "Jersey Girl," both movies in which he starred with Lopez. "That was where I found myself when I thought, Hey, I want to take up directing, which is for people that are taken seriously. That became my mantra — 'I'm just going to work harder than everybody else,'" he told Simmons.

Evidently, Affleck's determination paid off as he nabbed the Academy Award for Best Picture for his work on the 2012 film "Argo."

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