Kevin Smith Was 'Bawling The Whole Time' During Ben Affleck And Jennifer Lopez's Wedding

Filmmaker Kevin Smith had an emotional experience getting to witness Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez's historic wedding.

Smith has more experience with the whirlwind romance between the two celebrity superstars than most, having been there at ground zero when they first started dating.  He even wrote in his book "Secret Stash" that he was the one to coin the popular nickname for the couple in the early '00s, "Bennifer."

The director appeared on ABC's The View this week, and he spoke to the hosts about the experience of getting to see his friend and longtime collaborator, Affleck, at last marry Lopez.

Now, Smith, who once directed the power couple before their tumultuous breakup nearly two decades ago, gets to see the two finally get married. His wedding present of purchasing the two a custom video game back in 2002 after their initial engagement finally paid off.

Smith called the wedding "one of the five most breathtaking moments of my life." He added, "Watching these two kids who spent like all this time together hardcore, in the beginning, that I was there for. I got to see it, ground zero, man. They were just like so in love."

Smith continued on watching the relationship "implode and fall apart" before the two would eventually find their way back to each other. He added, "They had these separate lives and built lives, and then managed to come back together, find each other, and then stick the landing."

Having watched the two at the very beginning of their relationship, being a part of the public hysteria and storyline of their romance by nicknaming their preparing, and now finally seeing them get married at last was an emotional experience for the "Clerks" director. He Smith stated, "I was bawling the whole time. Everybody was."

Smith and Affleck have a long history together. They first collaborated with Affleck appearing in Smith's second feature, "Mallrats," in 1995. The two would go to work on many projects together, with Affleck starring or appearing in Smith's other films, including "Chasing Amy," "Dogma," and "Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back."

Smith later got to witness the Affleck and Lopez relationship at the height of its public hysteria, all while directing the couple in the film "Jersey Girl." However, the couple ended their engagement and relationship in January 2004, shortly before the film's release on March 26 of that year.

Later that year, Jennifer Lopez went to marry singer and songwriter Marc Anthony. They welcomed fraternal twins in February 2008. Meanwhile, Ben Affleck would later marry his "Daredevil" costar Jennifer Garner in 2005. They had three children together.

Affleck and Garner's marriage would eventually see the two separate in 2015. They later finalized their divorce in 2018. Lopez and Anthony had already ended their marriage and divorced in 2014. She was at one point engaged to former baseball player Alex Rodriguez, but the two famously never tied the knot.

Reports of Affleck and Lopez renewing their relationship again first surfaced in early 2021. After they enjoyed another go at the relationship, Lopez announced their second engagement earlier in April in her "On the JLo" newsletter.

The couple had two wedding ceremonies. First, as People reports, they had a small late-night ceremony in Las Vegas. Later, they had a larger ceremony outside Affleck's own 87-acre compound outside of Savannah, Georgia. That ceremony was attended by Affleck's longtime friend and collaborator Matt Damon, Smith, and other family and friends.

It is nice to see Smith still on good terms with Lopez and Affleck after all these years. He saw their romance undergo many trials and tribulations, including the film "Gigli," but the two eventually came back together.

Affleck worked with Smith once again for his latest film, "Clerks III," which began screening in theaters nationwide on September 13. It will be screening across the country, courtesy of Fathom Events, through Sunday, September 25.