Ben Affleck ‘Had Control’ Over Documentary About Marriage to Jennifer Lopez (Exclusive)

Ben Affleck was a “driving force” behind Jennifer Lopez’s documentary about their marriage, according to sources.

Multiple insiders tell PEOPLE that Affleck, 52, was heavily involved in the creative process for the Prime Video documentary, The Greatest Love Story Never Told, which was released in February alongside Lopez’s project This Is Me…Now: A Love Story and music album.

“He was the one who had control, pretty much,” a source says of Affleck.

“[Affleck] was very much in favor [of the project], and he was a driving force for [Lopez] to do the movie and the album and then he insisted on the documentary, where it looked like he was hesitant and almost surprised by it,” the source adds, “but that was a false narrative.”

Another source says, “The documentary was Ben’s idea for his company, Artists Equity. Jennifer’s team didn’t want to do it since she was focused on the album and Amazon original video project.”

The first source also reveals that although reports have circulated that Affleck felt uncomfortable with the revealing look at their marriage and how much attention the documentary brought to his relationship with Lopez, 55, the Air actor was highly involved with the editing of the film.

“He was very supportive of [Lopez] making the movie and her album,” the source explains. “He knew every step of the way what she was doing.”

Adds the source, “He loved the movie and album, but when you look at the doc, it looks like he’s surprised by it and not signing up for it. He was playing the role of playing the regular guy and meanwhile, he was the engine in back of it.”

“He definitely took it away from the director so he could have the narrative he wanted out there,” the source says. “It’s confusing [because] he was so involved and so proud of Jennifer because she really got in there … but in the doc, it looks like he was surprised. ‘You’re making an album about our [relationship]?’ “

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Additionally, the source notes that when The Greatest Love Story Never Told was first released, audiences thought the dynamic between the couple “was funny,” but in the wake of their split, the documentary puts things into a new perspective.

“At the time, people thought it was funny and now the press is reporting [Affleck] wasn’t happy with that life [in the public eye],” the source says. “But he not only supported that life, he encouraged it. It was almost like he’s justifying it. The need for the documentary was his idea.”

Lopez filed for divorce on Aug. 20, the second anniversary of her and Affleck’s Southern wedding in Georgia in 2022 — they legally married in Las Vegas in July 2022 — after spending much of the summer apart.

PEOPLE previously reported that the couple — who broke up for the first time in 2004 before rekindling their romance nearly two decades later — were going through relationship troubles.

Another source who knows both Lopez and Affleck told PEOPLE earlier this month that the pair “really loved each other” and that their divorce “happened quickly.”

“They were really going to give it a try, and they did,” the source added. “These are two people who are in love with love, and who wouldn’t jump into that? And the world wanted it.”