celebrity Lopez was bad for my career: Ben Affleck

"I was no longer in control of my life. I thought I wanted certain things, but I didn't. I got lost. I felt suffocated, miserable and gross. I should never have gone down that route or got sucked in to all the publicity," he said.

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He admits he is much happier now with his wife Jennifer Garner and their two daughters, three-year-old Violet and six-month-old Seraphin

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Hollywood actor Ben Affleck has spoken out about his high-profile relationship with former girlfriend insisting it was bad for his movie career

Jennifer Lopez

The actor began dating the singer-actress in 2002 after starring in Gigli with her, and the pair later became engaged before splitting up shortly before their scheduled wedding in 2004. Affleck now is adamant he should never have got involved in the first place because the publicity surrounding their romance tainted his career, reports contactmusic.com.

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"I was typecast as myself. Too many people weren't getting past what they read about me. That was damaging. I can tell from experience it's bad for you, and bad for your career. So I took a break, went away for a while and let things calm down," he added.

"Work has taken a back seat. My job is not as important as it was. Saying that having a family changed my life is a cliche. But it's true - it re-arranged my life and made me see clearly," he said.