CELEBRITY
Ben Affleck is pensive while leaving his office after ‘moving his things out’ of $60M mansion he shared with Jennifer Lopez as she smiles in new video
Ben Affleck and his ‘estranged wife’ Jennifer Lopez seem to be on two different planets these days.
The 51-year-old Oscar-winning star looked far from thrilled on Thursday as he was spotted leaving his Los Angeles office in a dark suit with a white shirt. The father of three carried an iced coffee in one hand and a duffel bag in another.
Meanwhile Lopez, 54, was smiling in a new skincare tutorial shared to her JLo Beauty Instagram page on Thursday.
The Atlas actress had no makeup on as she sat in her dressing room of her $60M mansion, which Ben moved out of earlier this year.
These images have surfaced after People claimed that Affleck has moved his things out of the Bel-Air home’ amid divorce rumours.
In the new clip Jennifer is in a friendly, warm mood.
She was in ivory silk lingerie as she told fans to use every last drop of her serum, even running it on your arms and chest if you have to.
The diva finished the clip on an upbeat note as she told her fans to have a ‘great day.’
‘Get every last drop out of every day @jlo. Make it a great one by starting off with That Limitless Glow Sheet Mask, infused with an ounce of our iconic JLo Glow Serum ✨,’ the caption read.
Affleck has been carrying on as business as usual amid constant rumours that he is ready to divorce his wife of only two years.
Jennifer, on the other hand, seems to be trying to enjoy some fun this summer as she was seen in Paris then in Italy with close pals.
The end does seem near for Bennifer 2.0.
People has claimed he picked up his stuff he had at his shared mansion with Lopez recently before Jennifer got back from Italy.
He now lives in a $100K a month home near his ex, Jennifer Garner, with whom he shares three children: Violet, 18, Seraphina, 15, and Samuel, 12.
‘Ben continues to live at the Brentwood rental,’ a source told the site.
‘He’s been there for about two months now,’ another source added.
‘He seems okay. He’s been at his office every day and seems focused on work. He’s also spending time with his kids.’
Affleck and Lopez put the mansion they have shared together in Beverly Hills since June 2023 on the market in early June for $65M.
The two appear to still be in contact.
They have business ties: Lopez is set to star in two upcoming movies for Affleck and Matt Damon’s production company. Those films are Unstoppable and Kiss Of The Spider Woman.
This comes a week after a source told DailyMail.com that Jennifer is ‘over’ trying to make her marriage with Ben work.
Amid rumors about the status of the couple’s marriage, an industry insider has now claimed that the pop star has reached her wit’s end and no longer feels that she can do any ‘more’ to save the relationship.
‘Jenny has had enough and she really tried but she can do no more, it’s not getting any better, it’s worse,’ a music industry source told DailyMail.com.
The insider add that the main reason J.Lo, left her husband was because he was always ‘grumpy and negative’ like Oscar The Grouch from Sesame Street.
Jennifer is sad about the end of her nuptials but ‘is trying to make the best of it by working out, spending time with her twins Max and Emme and making new plans for 2025,’ they went on.
One of those new plans is resuming her This Is Me… Live tour for the summer of 2025 when she turns 56. She canceled the 2024 tour that was scheduled to kick off in July in order to ‘recollect herself.’
‘She is excited about going on tour next year when her personal life is on calmer ground and she can connect with her fans. She will take her tribe with her and make the most of it,’ said the source.
Lopez is also said to be ‘shocked’ by the bad press she has been getting, which she believes is not fair.
‘If people could see what she has really gone through they would be easier on her,’ said the source.
‘Ben is a great guy but he can be grumpy and a downer. I think the world saw that in photos like when they were at the Grammys last year; he wouldn’t smile. If they saw how it really was, they would not attack her,’ said the friend of Jennifer.
‘He chain smokes and cusses and seems irritated a lot of the time. Great director and actor, but not a lot of laughs with him, you know?’ said the source. ‘He is a wonderful father though.’
Lopez plans on pushing on.
‘She is really not used to this kind of bad feedback, but she will get over it. She will march on,’ said the pal.
‘Jennifer is a very smart and strong woman and she will bounce back, she always does!’
These days she has been leaning on her close friends.
One is stylist Shawn Barton, whose nickname is Beezy. Another is vocal coach Stevie Mackey.
There have been many reports that Ben and Jennifer will announce their divorce soon and plan to do it on a Friday, which is the norm among celebrities who are splitting.
When the source was asked about this they offered, ‘I think they have wanted to wait until all the kids are out of school and done with school plans and all that before they make their big announcement. They are putting the kids first.’
She has Max and Emme with ex-husband Marc Anthony.
And Ben has Violet, Seraphina and Samuel with ex-wife Jennifer Garner.
And as far as how Jennifer and Ben are getting along these days, the insider said they are being ‘cordial’ with each other.
So what happened to the once jovial Ben who used to smile at fans and make out with Jennifer in public?
The source points to the pressure in Ben’s career.
‘He is now filming Accounting 2 and the hours are really long, he is working hard at it and it’s a lot to juggle with marriage and kids,’ said the source. ‘So sometimes he is not in the best mood.’
Meanwhile, Lopez cleared her schedule this summer to give herself some downtime to re-examine her life.
‘She is living alone and not with Ben, I think everyone knows that already, so that is a major change for her and the kids,’ said the pal. Indeed, Ben moved into a $100K a month rental near Garner months ago.
‘Of course Jenny is sad, she loves Ben, but they are just too different, there is no give and take, there was no blending, they are just on separate tracks.’
The source added that Jennifer gave it her all: ‘She really tried hard to make it work, and it just did not work.
‘She invested a lot of time and energy, and I think he did the same. There is no one to blame here. It just was not in the cards. It is very hard for two massive stars to keep a marriage going, one has to give in, and in this case neither gave in.’
Instead of crying at home, however, Jennifer is making plans for a better life.
‘She is looking at scripts and figuring out 2025. After the success of Atlas she is getting a ton of calls for movies, everyone wants to work with her. She loves that she is still on the A list in her fifties!’
She has earned plenty of respect.
This week Atlas’ composer Andrew Lockington said he was ‘blown away’ by Lopez’s creativity and work ethic.
She was not just as the lead acting role in the film, but as a filmmaker and producer during post-production, he added.
He also said she was in the edit room and was involved in the music. She also hit the screenings to see what the audience thought.
And he noted that he can’t believe how hard she works even with ‘all the rumors’ swirling about her personal life: ‘I can’t imagine what it would be like to be under that kind of microscope in her life.’
Meanwhile, Jennifer has struck a new deal with the streamer via her company Nuyorican to adapt novel Happy Place by Emily Henry.
Deadline reported plans to adapt the novel ‘as a series are underway’ with producers and streaming executives currently meeting with writers.
Happy Place follows couple Harriet and Wyn who met in college – but abruptly break up.
Despite splitting five months previously, they haven’t told their best friends, and end up sharing a bedroom in a Maine cottage during their annual getaway – and making a pact to lie that they are still together.
Lopez will act as one of the producers on the series alongside Elaine Goldsmith-Thomas and Benny Medina.