Jennifer Lopez once said “Love Don’t Cost a Thing,” but a divorce will certainly come at a price if rumors about her and Ben Affleck’s marital strife are true.
A recent attempt at putting on a loving and united front for paparazzi backfired as onlookers are more convinced now than ever that their union is doomed.
The pair tried to persuade the public into thinking things were copacetic between them after meeting up at the Santa Monica YMCA to attend a basketball game that the “Good Will Hunting” screenwriter’s son was playing in on June 2. The actors leaned in for a kiss but steered clear of each other’s lips, instead opting to go cheek to cheek with air smooches.
Affleck’s wedding band was missing, but he wore his disgruntled feelings on his face while his wife put on a smile as she walked into the facility with his mother, Chris Anne Boldt. Their exit appeared equally strained as their entrance as the “Batman v Superman” Gotham City star shooed the photographers away to no avail.
Despite sharing words with Lopez and exchanging a brief smile, many believe the writing is on the wall and that the couple is putting on a façade of a happy marriage to save face.
Jennifer Lopez & Ben Affleck In Los Angeles 😍 pic.twitter.com/kFxYS9pUYl
— Jennifer Lopez Updates (@lopez_updates) June 3, 2024
“It’s obvious they fake the happy for the camera now he looks so unhappy,” wrote an Instagram user assessing their dynamic. Another opinion shared suggested it was “So strange to be married and kiss on the cheek. And they live in different houses.”
A third comment stated Affleck’s facial expression was because of the paparazzi, “It’s obvious that there are times when Ben looks miserable that it’s because of the paparazzi not respecting their privacy. It’s not that he’s miserable with his wife.” A fourth critic said, “That was a friend.”
Lopez and Affleck dated in the early 2000s and were set to tie the knot when they called off their engagement two days before their wedding in 2004. In various interviews, the “Hustlers” actress shared that they remained friends and kept in touch from time to time.
They romantically connected again in the spring of 2021. By that time, the Oscar winner had been married and divorced from Jennifer Garner, with whom he shares three kids. Lopez had gone through her second divorce to singer Marc Anthony, with whom she shares twins, Max and Emme.
The “Gigli” co-stars quietly wed in Las Vegas, Nevada, in 2022. They held a formal wedding at Affleck’s Savannah, Georgia, home that summer.
But the spin-the-block effect that her former collaborator Ashanti has enjoyed with her now-fiancé Nelly is looking more like dead end. Speculation about their troubled union has amplified amid reports they have been living separately and now they’re selling they’re selling their marital home.
Jen and Ben spent two years searching for the $60.8 million Beverly Hills estate that was purchased last May. It quietly resurfaced on the market two weeks ago. Lopez is reportedly looking for a new solo residence.
News of her struggling love life comes as she has had to scrap plans of touring to promote her album “This Is Me…Now,” which was largely inspired by her and Affleck’s love story.
