Ben Affleck has reportedly held back on filing for divorce from Jennifer Lopez in order to spare her from more embarrassment, an insider told Page Six. This anonymous source said that they are close to Lopez, who is “furious” and “humiliated” at how this ordeal has been dragged out. They added that Affleck “was the one who initiated getting back together.”
Lopez and Affleck rekindled their romance in July of 2021, just a few months after Lopez broke her engagement to MLB star Alex Rodriguez. Affleck was coming off of a long but amicable divorce from actress Jennifer Garner, who supported him through alcoholism treatment before finalizing the split. Affleck and Lopez remarried in July of 2022, but reports that they are on course for divorce began circulating back in May. The couple have even listed their home for sale, but have not gone forward with a divorce filing just yet.
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Page Six‘s source said that Affleck is embarrassed by the whole thing as well. They said: “He’s humiliated her because she made a big deal that he’s the love of her life. They just had two weddings two years ago. This is some kind of a record, they’re not young kids.” They noted that Lopez has already released an album and an accompanying documentary about her relationship with Affleck, adding: “She is a romantic.”
As for Lopez, they said that she is particularly upset about all this drama falling on their children. They said: “There are five kids involved in this. She knew they were going to blend families. She has not fully accepted it is over.” They said that Lopez has become particularly close with Affleck and Garner’s 18-year-old daughter Violet.
The insider said that Affleck is holding off on filing for divorce because “he’s very protective of” Lopez, but they did not contradict TMZ‘s recent report, which said that Affleck and Lopez are no longer speaking to each other. The source for that story said that Lopez and Affleck are relying on their business managers to handle the separation of their affairs, and have not hired divorce lawyers specifically yet. Reps for the two actors did not comment on these stories.
In spite of all the speculation and unconfirmed reports, Affleck and Lopez have avoided discussing their relationship status publicly, which threw a wrench into Lopez’s plans this year. Her press tour for the Netflix original film Atlas was plagued with unwanted questions about her personal life, and her North American tour was canceled at the last minute as Lopez wanted to spend more time with her family. It’s unclear when the divorce will move forward or what else might fall by the wayside in the meantime.
