Ben And Jenny

‘AS a marriage and family therapist for the past 20 years, Dr Israel Helfand is more qualified than most to give an opinion on the relationship between Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez.

”Are you only pretending to love me?” ”No. I’m not that good an actor”

And he lets the Enquirer in on some startling news this week. ”A lot of Hollywood marriages are doomed before they even begin,” he says, to gasps of astonishment.

That’s right – some Hollywood relationships never stood a chance. And one of the reasons, he opines, is because Hollywood actors are ”living life in the fast lane”.

But what does this mean for Ben and Jen’s forthcoming nuptials?

Well, expert though he is, Dr Helfand is not going to rush to judgement – but it is the considered opinion of psychotherapist Suzanne Lopez that Ben’s sex orgy with Canadian strippers will cause a certain amount of friction between the couple.

”This incident will absolutely generate problems for Ben and Jennifer,” she says. ”And there’s nothing Jennifer can do.”

But there is something Ben can do. ”If he’s capable of experiencing Jennifer’s pain, experiencing her sadness about his indiscretion, then there’s great promise,” she says.

And that just leaves famed psychologist Dr Joyce Brothers to sum up.

”The sense I have,” she says (exhibiting it to the full), ”is that Ben and Jennifer really care for each other.” Which is apparently an important ingredient of a good relationship.

Truly, you cannot buy expert opinion like this. Or at least you can, but it costs $500 an hour from the Center For Stating The Bloody Obvious in Beverley Hills.’

Posted: 18th, August 2003 | In: Reviews Comment | TrackBack | Permalink