Breakups are extremely emotional, especially for celebrities, whose private lives are often exposed to the public. One such high-profile split that interested the media was that of the Hollywood ex-power couple—Ben Affleck and Gwyneth Paltrow. However, many people might be unaware that a particular movie project brought the ex-lovers back together and gave The Voyage of the Mimi actor a sense of destiny.
For the unversed, Affleck had planned to deny Paltrow’s offer for them to collaborate on a 2000 Don Roos film because he was unsure he could continue to remain friends with the actress. However, the Goop founder persuaded the Mallrats actor, who was particularly hurt by the breakup, to join her in Bounce (2000).
The attractive couple even collaborated in Shakespeare in Love (1998) after their relationship first started to gain media attention in 1997. But their relationship ended in 2000, leaving both actors inconsolable.
Gwyneth Paltrow Wanted To Help Ben Affleck Get Over Their Breakup By Starring In Bounce
Ben Affleck admitted that his breakup with Gwyneth Paltrow was particularly difficult for him. The two started dating in 1997 and ended their relationship in 2000. The actress once shared with Howard Stern on his SiriusXM radio show (via W Magazine):
“It’s interesting. I think there’s certain boyfriends where you are trying to work stuff out, right? Like, you’re trying to heal certain stuff from your childhood, and he was very much a lesson in that way.”
Affleck spoke about working with Paltrow in Bounce in an interview with ABC News in 2000. He mentioned that she had called and asked if he would be interested in playing her potential love interests. In his own words:
“We had just, broken up prior to that, [and she] was saying ‘hey, let’s go do this whole project together.’ I was a little reluctant. I certainly recognized that it was really hard work.”
The Phantoms actor acknowledged how much their breakup affected him. Paltrow, however, believed that the actor would have been able to move on from his heartache if he had been in their 2000 film Bounce, in which they played young lovers. Talk cited Affleck:
“When she first read it we’d just broken up, so things were a little strained. We were still trying to figure out how to be friends. She said, ‘Listen, I read this and it struck me that you should do it.’ Initially, I thought, ‘Oh, the characters are older, maybe I’m too young,’ and she just said ‘You’ll be great.’”
RELATED: Ben Affleck Was Almost Charged With War Crime For His $232M Film ‘Argo’ That Won 7 Oscar Nominations
Gwyneth Paltrow Thought Ben Affleck’s Life Was Complicated
Gwyneth Paltrow and Ben Affleck dated for three years, on and off, after getting to know each other at a Miramax dinner. The former once went into more detail about her opinion of the Good Will Hunting actor in an interview with ABC News in 2003:
“Ben makes life tough for himself. He’s got a lot of complication, and you know, he really is a great guy. So I hope he sorts himself out. … I just think we have a very different sort of value system.”
The two shared the big screen in the films Shakespeare in Love and Bounce and ended their romance for good in 2000. They had been together for three years, but she insisted she never had any plans to end up with him:
“I just think we have a very different sort of value system.”
Affleck began dating Jennifer Lopez, and the two became engaged before breaking their engagement in 2004. The actor tied the knot with Jennifer Garner in 2005; however, the couple publicly announced their split in 2015.
Affleck and Lopez rekindled their romance again and finally got married in 2022.
Meanwhile, Paltrow got married to Coldplay frontman Chris Martin in 2003; however, they announced their split in 2014. The actress is now married to writer/director Brad Falchuk, and they celebrated their fifth wedding anniversary last month.
Bounce is streaming on DIRECTV.
RELATED: Ben Affleck Was Almost Charged With War Crime For His $232M Film ‘Argo’ That Won 7 Oscar Nominations
