Welcome to another episode of What Are Sources Saying About the State of Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck's Relationship? I’m kidding of course, but the truth is that everything we, the public, think we know about Bennifer’s rumored marital strife is coming from sources said to be either close to Jen or close to Ben. And optics, optics are playing a big part as well.
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The latest optics making headlines is that after weeks of being apart, Mrs. Affleck visited Mr. Affleck at his rented home in Brentwood, California. And not only that, she also went to the mall with Ben and ex-wife Jennifer Garner's son Samuel. Here’s the latest coming out of the rumor mill according to sources with a bit of speculation added by me because I’m only human.
Wait a second, I thought some said Mr. and Mrs. weren’t even on speaking terms!
Just last week, I shared that a source told TMZ that Jen and Ben weren’t even on speaking terms anymore. But then on Sunday, August 11, Jennifer was seen stopping by the place Ben has been renting in Los Angeles' Brentwood neighborhood after moving out of their marital home in June. And, yes, he was home at the time.
This is why we can’t believe every dang thing that anonymous sources put out there.
Why in the why would anyone go to someone’s home that they aren’t speaking to? Wouldn’t that be just a little bit awkward? Are they just miming stuff to each other the whole time or standing there in awkward silence?
Also, Jen was seen going to the mall with Ben’s 12-year-old son Samuel earlier that day.
That would mean that Jen isn’t speaking to Ben, but she’s hanging out with his kids because she also hung out with Ben’s daughter 18-year-old daughter Violet, whom he also shares with Jennifer Garner, while vacationing without Ben in the Hamptons this summer.
A source has an explanation.
According to a source that spoke to People, there is a perfectly good explanation for why Jen and Ben’s kids are still hanging out. "Just because she's not with Ben doesn't mean that she doesn't care about his kids," the source said.
"She always cared about them. She spent months looking for the perfect house for their blended family last year. Now when she's back in L.A. she wants to spend quality time with them before school resumes and Violet is off to college," continued the source.
Sure, it's possible that Jen is maintaining a relationship with her bonus kids even as her marriage to their father is falling apart. But if she were truly not talking to Ben at all, wouldn't she just drop Samuel off after their trip to the mall instead of going inside of Ben's place?
It’s not hard to believe that J. Lo loves Ben’s kids.
She is a mother of two herself and a loving person. Here’s the thing, though. Remember when Jen was engaged to Alex Rodriguez? She got very close to his daughters Natasha and Ella.
We don't see them hanging out anymore.
I’m sure she loved and still loves them very much, but it’s not like she kept hanging out with them publicly after her split with A-Rod in April 2021. Maybe they keep in touch privately, but they certainly don’t go to the mall or the Hamptons together. Just sayin’.
Does Jen spending time with Ben’s kids mean everything is hunky-dory marriage-wise?
Of course not. I don’t know what it means and neither does anyone else who aren’t Ben and Jen. I just think it’s important to note that until Bennifer tells us what’s going on, we’re all just speculating.
It does seem clear that Ben and Jen are not living together.
Traditionally, a married couple shares a home. Maybe Ben and Jen are trying something different, who knows? But Ben and Jen are not cohabitating at the moment. Ben moved into a rental while Jen was vacationing in Europe this summer.
Ben bought a new pad recently.
Then on July 24—Jen’s birthday, which they spent apart—Ben closed the purchase on a new home in Brentwood. Plus, the marital home that they bought in June 2023 was officially listed in July, but has yet to sell.
Jen is said to be house hunting for a new home in Los Angeles.
“Jennifer is trying to find a new home to start fresh,” shared a source that spoke to People in early August. “She always has [a] good attitude even when things are not perfect.”
Ben's birthday is on August 15.
Ben is turning 52 on August 15. It will be interesting to see if he and Jen celebrate together. He wasn't at her Bridgerton-themed birthday bash in the Hamptons, New York, on July 24 and doesn't really throw himself big parties anyway.
Their two-year wedding anniversary came and went without any hoopla.
July 16 marked Bennifer's second wedding anniversary, but they did not spend it together. Jen was in the Hamptons while Ben was in Los Angeles. They eloped in a secret Las Vegas wedding in July 2022 and followed that up with a much more formal event on August 20.
I'm still rooting for them.
Call me a sucker, but I still want them to work out. I want them to be a true Hollywood romance that gets a happily ever after. That they broke up in 2004 and got back in 2021 is already the stuff of rom-coms. Yet, it seems like so many others are rooting against them. I'm not sure why and I'm not sure I want to know why.
