Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez publicly reunited for the first time in seven weeks amid reports that they are going through a rough patch in their marriage. On Thursday night, the couple, who married in July 2022 after rekindling their romance in 2021 – nearly two decades after calling off their first engagement – appeared united as they attended a school production for Ben’s 15-year-old son Fin Affleck, who uses the pronoun ‘they.’ An eyewitness told DailyMail.com that ‘Ben didn’t look happy to see JLo when she came to a show for one of his children.’ ‘When he saw her get out of the car, they didn’t hug or kiss,’ the observer noted of the 51-year-old actor and his wife, 54, who arrived separately and met in a parking lot.
Despite not showing affection in public, Jennifer still brought Ben’s children a beautiful bouquet of sunflowers to celebrate their performance. The two-time Oscar winner also brought flowers. An insider told Perez Hilton that ‘nothing can stop them from being together for the kids’ and that ‘marriage drama comes second’. ‘They are building a united front. Jen shows up with Emme to support Fin. Emme is very attached to Fin so it’s only natural that Jen, no matter what she’s going through with Ben,’ the source said. The insider noted that Lopez’s 16-year-old Emme was ‘super excited’ and ‘jumped with joy at Fin’s performance.’
There appeared to be no tension between Lopez and Affleck’s 12-year-old son, Samuel, as she walked away with her arm around his shoulder, at one point. On this occasion, the Marry Me actress wore a beige button-down shirt, a pair of light flared jeans and a pair of high heels. She decided to wear her straight light brown locks in a glamorous ponytail amid rumors that her husband was at a house in Brentwood without her. Affleck wore a dark blue sweatshirt, gray graphic T-shirt, jeans and a pair of Nike sneakers. While Samuel was present for most of the couple’s time together, Affleck and Lopez spoke privately in his car for a few minutes in the parking lot.
As they talked, she smiled and looked into his eyes, before his son joined them, and she put on her aviator sunglasses. In the end, the trio went to school together as a family. Later, Lopez, who recently ‘liked’ an Instagram post about unhealthy relationships , met up with Affleck again in the car with her 16-year-old Emme Maribel Muñiz. Affleck is said to have driven his wife and Emme to their home, but ‘returned to the rented house alone’. This comes amid a TMZ report on Thursday claiming that Affleck and Lopez have been living separately. On Thursday morning, Ben was seen driving near the house he was reportedly staying at once again without J-Lo. Before their latest appearance, the celebrity couple known as ‘Bennifer’ were last seen together seven weeks ago, in late March, while out for lunch in New York City.
On Wednesday, it was reported that the couple were ‘incompatible’ and were set to split after less than two years of marriage. A source who spoke to In Touch confirmed that Affleck has moved out of their shared home. ‘The writing is on the wall – it’s over,’ the insider declared, adding, ‘They’re getting divorced – and for once, [Ben’s] not to blame!’ Sources say the actor has moved out of the $60 million home he shared with Lopez. The mother of two was seen house hunting in Beverly Hills without Ben on Tuesday. ‘Now he is focusing on work and his children. Ben has moved out and they may have to sell the dream home they spent two years looking for,” the insider continued. ‘They will never stop loving each other, but she can’t control him and he can’t change her. There is no way it can last.”
Jennifer’s decision to release her Amazon Prime documentary, The Greatest Love Story Never Told, in February, chronicling her love story with Ben, appears to have put a strain on her marriage. couple. This candid performance is the third part of her very public $20 million tribute to Ben, which also includes his “Is Me… Now: A Love Story,” a semi-autobiographical film. “musical, sci-fi action rom-com” and her single, This Is Me Right Now. The source said: ‘Ben would never try to squash [Jennifer’s] dreams or tell her she can’t do something to advance her career, even though she absolutely could. control him.’
On Wednesday, Lopez wore a tracksuit while visiting a dance studio. She comfortably wears a cropped sweater, beige pants and sneakers. Her honey-toned hair was tied into a ponytail and she wore a pair of hoop earrings. The day before many hyphens seemed to be considering new large villas. It’s only been a year since Lopez and Affleck bought the $60.85 million, 46,000-square-foot home they now own.
The house – known as the ‘Wallingford estate’ – sits on a five-acre site and has 12 bedrooms and 24 bathrooms. Fans pointed out that the couple has been spending a lot of time together lately and attending events without each other. Lopez went solo for her co-hosting duties at the glitzy Met Gala in New York on May 6, surprising many when Affleck skipped the event. Ben is said to be starring in The Account 2, but sources say he has “decided to call it quits” on his marriage to the singer. Meanwhile, Affleck appeared alone at The Roast of Tom Brady on May 5. On their last outing together, the couple appeared tense and didn’t crack a smile as they had lunch at Cecconi’s.
Tensions seemed to begin to surface during Lopez’s recent documentary, where Affleck admitted he was uncomfortable having such a public relationship. The director confessed: ‘When we got back together, I said, “Listen, one of the things I don’t want is a social media relationship.” Then I realized it wasn’t a fair thing to ask. It’s like you’re getting married to a sea captain and you say, “Well, I don’t want any water.” The deal.’ During the show, Ben made it clear that he didn’t like prying into their love life , calling their private moments ‘sacred’ and rolling his eyes at the memory of Jennifer sharing all the pictures their old love letters to her friends and colleagues.
Meanwhile, Jenny from hitmaker Block added, ‘I don’t think [Ben] feels comfortable with me doing this, [but] he doesn’t want to stop me.
Affleck made it clear in the documentary that the intense scrutiny during their early relationship in 2003 caused the couple to break up just before they were set to get married. The actor blamed ‘the enormous surveillance surrounding our private lives’. The couple’s love story began in 2002 when they dated while filming the movie Jersey Girl. They got engaged the following year but broke up in 2004. They then rekindled their relationship in spring 2021.
The duo married in a Las Vegas ceremony in July 2022, followed by a lavish wedding at his Georgia estate in August 2022. They detailed the ups and downs of their rekindled romance in J Lo’s new documentary, but while she was keen to make her love public, she openly admitted to Ben ‘uncomfortable’ about being my muse. Ben shares: ‘Things that are private, I always feel sacred and special because partly they are also private… So this is an adjustment for me.’ This is not the first time fans have speculated about the couple’s marriage having trouble in paradise. In May last year, Ben appeared to slam the car door after Jennifer sat in the passenger seat, sending fans into a frenzy on social media.
Fans took to Twitter to comment on the viral clip, noting that he looked ‘miserable’. That same month, they were spotted having another tense exchange in public. The couple was driving in Beverly Hills when they stopped at a red light and began a heated conversation. Photos taken by a European tourist and exclusively obtained by DailyMail.com show Ben, who was behind the wheel, talking to Jennifer as she sat in the passenger seat of his Rivian electric SUV, with the door pull down window. The two also looked very serious when they stepped onto the red carpet at the premiere of her movie The Mother in May. The Get Loud singer frowned and was gesticulating at her husband while he looked angry. The pair also raised eyebrows at the 2023 Grammy Awards, when they were caught sharing an awkward moment where the star appeared to be snapping at his co-star.
Jennifer has twins Emme and Max, 16, with ex-husband Marc Anthony. After marrying Ben, she also became stepmother to the children he welcomed with ex-wife Jennifer Garner: Violet, 18, Seraphina, 15, and Samuel, 12. Garner was notable for her absence from Affleck’s Georgia wedding, with his brother Casey also refusing to attend after saying he had a previous parental commitment in Los Angeles. It’s been a turbulent month for Lopez, who is said to be at the center of crisis talks over her upcoming tour, with organizers keen to halt poor ticket sales to avoid embarrassment – but the singer and her manager refused, insiders said. Lopez will hit the road next month with a string of dates across North America in support of her ninth studio album, This is Me… Now.
But with just weeks to go, she’s still facing a worrying lack of sales, with many seats still empty in many locations, according to official seating maps on Ticketmaster and resale sites Tickets cost only 10 USD. Now, multiple insiders have claimed Live Nation, the tour’s promoters, recently proposed canceling all 30 dates – but no one, including long-time manager Benny Medina, can explain conquer her. Medina prompted Lopez to create her latest album, This Is Me.. Now, which revolves around rekindling her relationship with Affleck 20 years after the couple broke up. Affleck and Matt Damon’s Artists Equity company financed the documentary, while Lopez self-financed her film This Is Me…Now: A Love Story for $20 million.
Lopez’s former publicist, Rob Shuter, expressed similar views in an interview with The New York Post, suggesting that her mistake was thinking that people still cared about her romance with Affleck. “Jennifer has always been a marketing and PR genius but her biggest miscalculation here was that she thought the world still cared about Ben and Jennifer’s love story,” he said. ‘But no one cares about Bennifer anymore. The world has moved on.’
