Ben Affleck Might Be Getting Breakup Assistance From This Ex-Girlfriend

Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez appear to be spending some time apart. He’s in Los Angeles shooting The Accountant 2, and she’s having the time of her life with pals in Italy. No one knows what the outcome will be amid their separation, but it seems that one of the Oscar winner’s former exes is happy to offer some support because she weathered her own very public divorce healthily years ago.

Gwyneth Paltrow, the queen of “unconscious coupling” after her split from Chris Martin, reportedly believes that she can step in and assist Affleck. “Gwyneth has been following the situation closely and believes really strongly that she could help them by sharing some of the tools that worked for her and Chris Martin,” an insider shared with In Touch. “People ask her for that kind of help all the time, but she’s very picky about who she’ll give her time to.” Affleck still holds a special place in Paltrow’s heart because they’ve been friends “for nearly 30 years and she hates to see him going through this sort of pain.” The source claimed that the Goop founder “reached out and offered to do whatever she can to help him during this difficult time.”

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Paltrow explained that her decision was about finding a way to navigate her divorce from Martin in a way that was healthy for them and their two kids, Apple, and Moses. “I just thought, ‘I wonder if there’s a way to circumvent that and go directly to the point where we’re friends and we remember what we loved about each other, and constantly acknowledge that we created these incredible human beings together,” she said in a 2019 interview on Armchair Expert. The phrase has been around since the 1970s, but it was the Shakespeare in Love actress who brought it to the pop culture zeitgeist.

Celebrity divorce attorney Laura Nasser shared with SheKnows that Paltrow and Martin “changed…the way people approach divorce,” making it “less taboo.” She added, “There’s] a little bit less of, ‘Oh, I’ve had a failed marriage.’ It’s more about, ‘No, this is my next chapter and I’m moving on.’ And particularly if you’ve got children, you’re going to know each other for the rest of your lives. Conscious uncoupling, or I think another one that I heard was ‘gracefully separating,’ makes more sense.” According to the In Touch source, Paltrow is “team Ben” and wants to “act as an impartial mediator for him and J. Lo.”

“She’s offered to try and help them get back on track but if it comes down to it she’s also got the skills to help them navigate the divorce with spiritual techniques, and practical advice to make it easier on them and on their kids,” they noted. “It’s typical Gwyneth, she always loves to meddle, but at least her heart is in the right place.” Honestly, this doesn’t sound like a plan most couples would agree to — an ex coming into counsel is pretty invasive — but maybe the “unconscious coupling” journey is the right one for Affleck and Lopez to take. That’s if they decide to go their separate ways.

Before you go, click here to see celebrity exes who will always be friends.

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