Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck had not even been in the same general vicinity since late June. She flew to the Hamptons to spend Independence Day at her place there, and she stayed there through early August. She only came back to LA last week, and by all accounts, she and Ben Affleck didn’t see each other within days of her arrival. Then, over the weekend, J.Lo went to Ben’s Brentwood rental and spent some time there. She was also photographed spending some time with Samuel Affleck at the mall.
Jennifer Lopez visited Ben Affleck at his home over the weekend after spending much of the summer apart. A source tells PEOPLE that the Atlas actress, 55, stopped by Affleck’s rental home in Brentwood on Sunday, Aug. 11, while he was there. Earlier in the day, she accompanied his son Samuel, 12, to the mall.
Lopez, who has 16-year-old twins Max and Emme with ex-husband Marc Anthony, is eager to spend time with Affleck’s kids before school begins, the source says. Affleck and ex-wife Jennifer Garner share Violet, 18, Seraphina, 15, and Samuel.
“Just because she’s not with Ben doesn’t mean that she doesn’t care about his kids,” says the source. “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.”
A source previously told PEOPLE on Aug. 6 that Lopez and Affleck — whose 52nd birthday is this Thursday, Aug. 15 — hadn’t seen each other “in weeks.” Added that source, “They’re moving on separately. Jennifer is trying to find a new home to start fresh.”
So Violet’s not taking a gap year – in which case, Violet is probably heading off to college very soon, probably within days? Freshman orientation and all of that. As for Jennifer spending time with his kids… it’s fine. Violet came to see her in the Hamptons, I assume Seraphina and Emme have been hanging out (they’re besties) and now J.Lo is taking Samuel shopping. What’s painful to me is that I absolutely know that J.Lo is doing the emotional labor here. She’s the one telling HIS kids about the split, she’s the one making the effort to spend time with the kids and to keep it pleasant with Ben. I swear to God, I will be so mad at her if she spends years pining for Ben after the divorce.
Jennifer Lopez was spotted navigating the complexities of blended family life. She picked up Ben Affleck's son, Samuel, for a day of shopping at Neiman Marcus at the Century City Mal for Ben Affleck, whose birthday is on August 15th.
📷: @backgrid_usa pic.twitter.com/yIsysMtvJ3
— backgridus (@BackgridUS) August 13, 2024
Jennifer Lopez's close bond with Ben Affleck's son Samuel revealed as they hug on shopping spree https://t.co/THpy7CIDJD
— Daily Mail Celebrity (@DailyMailCeleb) August 13, 2024
Photos courtesy of Backgrid.
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- Paris, FRANCE – Ben Affleck and his wife Jennifer Lopez walk with their daughters Seraphina and Emme in the Marais during their honeymoon in Paris on July 22, 2022. The couple certainly looked like happy newlyweds during the stroll following their recent Vegas wedding. Pictured: Ben Affleck, Jennifer Lopez BACKGRID USA 22 JULY 2022 BYLINE MUST READ: Best Image / BACKGRID USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- Paris, FRANCE – Ben Affleck and his wife Jennifer Affleck (Lopez) leave the Crillon hotel with their respective daughters Seraphina, Violet and Emme to go to dinner at the Gigi restaurant during their honeymoon in Paris. Pictured: Violet Affleck, Seraphina Affleck, Emme Maribel Muñiz, Ben Affleck, Jennifer Lopez BACKGRID USA 22 JULY 2022 BYLINE MUST READ: Best Image / BACKGRID USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- Paris, FRANCE – Ben Affleck and his wife Jennifer Affleck (Lopez) cruise on the Seine River with their respective children Seraphina, Violet, Maximilian, and Emme during their honeymoon in Paris. Pictured: Ben Affleck, Jennifer Affleck, Emme Maribel Muniz, Maximilian David Muniz, Violet Affleck, Seraphina BACKGRID USA 23 JULY 2022 BYLINE MUST READ: Best Image / BACKGRID USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- Paris, FRANCE – Ben Affleck and his wife Jennifer Affleck (Lopez) cruise on the Seine River with their respective children Seraphina, Violet, Maximilian, and Emme during their honeymoon in Paris. Pictured: Ben Affleck, Jennifer Affleck, Emme Maribel Muniz, Maximilian David Muniz, Violet Affleck, Seraphina BACKGRID USA 23 JULY 2022 BYLINE MUST READ: Best Image / BACKGRID USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- Paris, FRANCE – Ben Affleck and his wife Jennifer Affleck (Lopez) visited the Pablo Picasso Museum with their respective children Seraphina, Violet, Maximilian, and Emme during their honeymoon in Paris. Pictured: aBen Affleck and his wife Jennifer Affleck, Violet Affleck, Seraphina Rose Elizabeth Affleck BACKGRID USA 23 JULY 2022 BYLINE MUST READ: Best Image / BACKGRID USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- Paris, FRANCE – Jennifer Lopez spends her 53rd birthday shopping at La Samaritaine with hubby Ben Affleck during their honeymoon trip in Paris, France. JLO stunned in a vibrant red maxi dress in celebration of her special day. Pictured: Ben Affleck, Jennifer Affleck, Jennifer Lopez BACKGRID USA 24 JULY 2022 BYLINE MUST READ: Best Image / BACKGRID USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- Paris, FRANCE – Ben Affleck and his wife Jennifer Lopez, accompanied by their respective children Seraphina and Emme, return to the Hôtel de Crillon after a visit to the “Sephora” store on the Champs-Elysées in Paris. Leaving the van, the stepsisters, Seraphina and Emme seemed to race to the entrance of the palace. Pictured: Seraphina Affleck, Emme Maribel Muñiz BACKGRID USA 25 JULY 2022 BYLINE MUST READ: Best Image / BACKGRID USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- Paris, FRANCE – Ben Affleck and his wife Jennifer Lopez, accompanied by their respective children Seraphina and Emme, return to the Hôtel de Crillon after a visit to the “Sephora” store on the Champs-Elysées in Paris. Leaving the van, the stepsisters, Seraphina and Emme seemed to race to the entrance of the palace. Pictured: Ben Affleck, Jennifer Lopez BACKGRID USA 25 JULY 2022 BYLINE MUST READ: Best Image / BACKGRID USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- Los Angeles, CA – Ben Affleck is back in the office and we spot the star with a large backpack he uses to hide behind as he makes his way inside. Pictured: Ben Affleck BACKGRID USA 4 AUGUST 2022 BYLINE MUST READ: Vasquez-Max Lopes / BACKGRID USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
It’s good that she’s maintaining a close relationship with Ben’s children. That’s all she can do at this point.
It’s like rinse and repeat. I think of A Rod’s kids. A part of me gets sad.
Yeah it’s really sad. I mean, yes it’s great that she’s not severing those ties but it makes me wonder how much those kids are disappointed and sad that things didn’t work out with their dad and J Lo.
And people talk a lot of shit about J Lo around here but a true asshole wouldn’t continue to reach out to these kids. She’s choosing not to walk away from them and that’s admirable AF.
And there was another picture somewhere of Violet wearing JLo’s old Valentine’s Day dress.
As a mom and a step mom, I appreciate that Jennifer is continuing to support Ben’s kids.
Yes, J Lo has her own set of issues – I get that. But Ben is such a manchild. I don’t understand how he gets these women to do all of this emotional heavy lifting for him. Maybe he’s different in person, but he doesn’t seem all that special.
Ben takes care of Ben. I’m amazed he stayed in the marriage with Jen Garner as long as he did.
I imagine Jen G did a lot of the heavy lifting in their family and made his life very easy.
Not to excuse his crappy man-child behavior, but I do think he fell off the wagon again, hence the separation and separate family home. I’m just glad he has the foresight to keep that away from his kids and the “women” in his life. Dealing with a “functional-alcoholic” in the primary home is havoc on the psyche of the family and other loved ones.
Ben took his kids for a vacations in Japan in july and a lot can be said about him but he definitely seems to a hands on/present father so I don’t think jlo is the only one doing emotional labor for his kids or the one who needed to tell them about the split. There are also photos of Emme and Finn at his rental during the weekend
I had read that Emme and Fin spent time together at Jennifer Garner’s home, not Ben’s rental?
As usual, I want to preface this with both JLo and Batfleck have issues. However, Jennifer Garner is not getting in JLo’s way, and her kids with Ben are definitely not fighting being seen with their stepmom. I don’t really see Emme and Max spending time with Ben. It doesn’t mean that they do not, but in JLo’s case I know that her stepkids willingly do stuff with her and don’t need to at this point. So Whatever is going on, his kids are not holding it against her.
Emme and Fin were at both garner’s home and at Ben’s rental, there were photos of them there on paps agency
Who is Finn?
Nevermind. I see the answer in another comment.
Seraphina goes by the name Finn now.
Honestly, they both strike me as involved and caring parents.
@sunshile…if Ben A is a hands-on dad it would seem that is only since the latest rehab, with Jen G supported him (driving him there etc to make sure he would be there for their kids). Good for Jen L to maintain a relationship with the kids and for Jen G to obviously support it. They have the emotional labour in common.
JLo went to Jennifer Garner’s house Sunday to drop off Emme (apparently so she could spend time with Finn). She came out with the Affleck son and took him shopping for several hours then came back, dropped him off, picked up Emme then went to Ben’s rental with Emme for another several hours. Which could be awkward. Heck all of it can be awkward so I give credit to Jen Garner too. And so Ben is seeing at least l/2 of her twins as well, so he is doing some emotional lifting too. I know all this because backgrid trailed Jlo the whole day.
Just musing about how I had 2 at least 18 month long relationships after I was divorced and before I met Mr R. 25 years ago. Both had children and I went out of my way to do things with the kids after the relationships ended (both amicably).
One of the really nice things about social media is how easy it is to keep up with them all these years later. And no, the men did not reach out in the same way.
Seraphina is non binary and has changed their name to Fin.
Violet wore a floaty pink and lilac dress of J Lo’s recently.
All that is publicly known is that she introduced herself as Fin at her grandfather’s memorial. At this point it is quite an assumption to go from that to stating her pronouns are they and that she is non binary
Jennifer Lopez has always been great with kids. I remember when she was married to Marc Anthony, she did the most to ensure that his kids from his ex-wife and a previous relationship were included.
Jlo back at his apartment to set things straight. It’s going to be calmer in the next week, no more tea for us. Took his boy out to get some new stuff for school cuz she’s the fashion one.
A percentage of me likes this and a percentage of me feels like rinse and repeat. I’m thinking of Arod’s kids eventually left in the dust. I get real sad ab all the kids and all the partners floating in and and out for all parties.
JLo was close to Marc’s kids when they were together. Same with ARod and his kids. When she leaves the relationship she leaves the kids behind. She will remain close to Ben’s children as long as she needs to but it won’t save the marriage.
Well maybe they’re reading the comments 🤣🤣🤣 so they’re trying a different strategy 😁
They all need to stop pimping those kids out as tools in a PR war. She’s only been with their dad for two years, and they live with their mom – how close a relationship can you realistically have with teenagers whose dad you’re in a short-ish term relationship with?
I’d be impressed if she spent time with the kids without running to the media.
Samuelwhiskers +1
Especially because before the split she was never seen by herself with his kids. I could believe it was genuine if she wasn’t running to give exclusives about it to Peoplemag. I don’t doubt she cares about them but the way she goes about it it looks more like it’s to prove something to Ben and the public
They’ve been together over three years now. The relationships didn’t start at marriage. 2-3 years isn’t a short time for children. And J-Lo seems to get along particularly well with his kids, and Fin and Emme clearly seem close and attend the same school. It makes sense to continue those relationships, though when they divorce they will likely become less close over time. But relationships are relationships and it is very healthy for steparents’ to not just walk away from stepchildren.
Taking a kid out school shopping is not “pimping out”. What a horrible expression. Right now JLo and Affleck are pap targets because of their marital issues so they’re going to be tracked no matter what they’re doing and who they’re doing it with. They’ve both messed up big time but neither of them would sink so low as to deliberately pimp out each other’s kids for the press.
+1,000 Jaded.
I’m as cynical as the next person but it’s just so yucky to assume that every interaction with the kids is for PR purposes. It implies the kids aren’t worthy of being unconditionally loved and cared for and that there must be some ulterior motive behind Jennifer wanting to spend time with them.
Samual Whiskers +2
She travels with a makeup esthetician, hair esthetician, a mirror holder, a photographer, a videographer, her main managers Elaine and Benny and several junior assistants.
This glam squad travels with her 24/7, and has for years.
Ben specifically asked her to scale back on her glam squad and she flat refused, telling him that this is what it takes to be JLo (she told him he’s lucky he doesn’t have to go to these lengths which is classic manipulative wording that narcs use).
Every single daily movement of her life is detailed and printed out for her team and this is well known within her industry.
It’s also well known she’s hardly spent much time with children throughout her career.
The time she is spending with any of the kids right now is for the purposes of publicity.
Just like it looked like she was getting ice cream in the Hamptons but she didn’t even go inside.
An assistant retrieved the cone 🍦 that she did not eat and just held for the pap photos.
(I can’t believe one of her dresses didn’t get caught in the bike wheels)
This was a big issue between Ben and JLo. He’s interested in creating more family time with his children but she wants him to keep chasing her on red carpets while everyone wishes to be her.
She lives for this, not any of the children.
I abhor both young and older children being exploited.
But damn if this isn’t effective as I notice observers truly believe it 📸
If that’s true, Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner are okay with JLO using their kids for PR purposes. That’s a stretch. No way Ben and Garner would be okay with that especially as it does not benefit them. Samuel wasn’t forced to have his arms around JLO. Boys that age are not usually demonstrative – that relationship is genuine.
Well, I hope that the kids are able to remain friends with each other and on good terms with both Jens. I kind of doubt that Ben can be THAT present or stable of a dad. He’s putting these kids’ mothers through the wringers and causing major upheaval in these kids’ lives. I think anyone who believes he can be a terrible husband but a good dad is very, very optimistic.
I’m not a fan of either of her or Ben, but I give Jen credit for maintaining a relationship with the kids through all this mess.
There’s a Neiman Marcus at the Century City Mall????? Since when? I’ve never seen it, and neither has google maps. This is the kind of shoddy reporting that makes me despair of the popular press.
What’s going on here exactly? Ben seems DONE is Jlo not believing it? I am glad she is still hanging out with the kids, but will that last is my question if they really are done? I am so so confused regarding what is going on here.
What’s going on? There was a quote from JLo or her team promising that she’d come out of any divorce on top. Now she’s making sure of it. That enormous $$$$$$$ house is now her proof of ‘how hard she worked for months’ to have a place for all the kids according to this article.
I don’t know what is going on with her and Ben but its nice that JLo and Ben are trying to keep it amicable for their kids and Jennifer Garner too seems okay with it. I think its sweet. If they divorce, yes, over time JLo may lose contact with Ben’s kids and vice versa. That wouldn’t be too jarring either. But for now, its nice to see adults acting like adults being careful to not let their discord affect their joint family unit.
She is still married to Ben isn’t she? At the very least she still has access to his kids so she’s just being available for them. She wasn’t married to A Rod so who knows what access to his kids was left to her. And Marc Anthony’s kids with other mothers may also be difficult to arrange outings and get togethers with. Or maybe it’s done in private. Who knows? I can’t even get my kid together with her cousins and second cousins except for a few times every few years. Modern lives and schedules are a bear to navigate.
If she loses touch with Affleck’s kids as they fully move on to new lives I won’t assume she abandoned anyone.
I think it’s just nice that someone is making an effort to facilitate friendly outings. I’m going to assume Jennifer Garner is a very open and kind and secure person who does what’s best for her kids and doesn’t throw up barriers to access. And JLo is also nice and tries her best. Affleck is going to Affleck, whatever that means on any given day. I just hope he can stay sober for their sakes and his own.
The important thing is these kids are having fun and seem well loved.
Marc Anthony is no longer a present father figure to his two kids with JLo. JLo has expressed her disappointment at this, Marc himself regrets it but he was the one who sort of abandoned his relationship with the twins. He admitted to it in an interview. So, I don’t see how JLo’s twins can have a functioning relationship with their actual step siblings when the father is MIA by choice.
I see this as PR for jlo. She wants to look like exactly what you’ve said, that she’s the “good guy” she cares about her step kids, blah blah. For me, it’s all performative. Lopez is all about her image.
JLo is still Ben’s wife and his children’s stepmother. It appears to me that the two Jens are the ones facilitating a smooth transition.
100%. All these comments about it being nothing but PR and “pimping out the kids” for positive attention really are cruel. Both the Jens are making sure the kids come first and don’t feel neglected or that they have to take sides.
I’m not going to assume this is just PR for her. But I have to admit, I wonder if she’s still hoping to work things out with him. I’m not sure what it is about Ben but both Jens were absolutely besotted with him and there’s no doubt he was JLo’s “one that got away”. So losing him again after such a short period of time has to sting.
I’ll admit that I’m biased: While she remains my aging idol I have never thought of her as someone who selflessly puts other people’s kids first. (I remember Kevin Smith saying several years ago that the only person she cared about was Ben. Period.) I’m sure she’s great to them when she’s involved with their Dad but will she maintain a close relationship after? Eh, time will I guess. She isn’t involved with A-Rods kids is she?
Regardless, it’s good that she’s being kind to Ben’s kids now. Blending two families and tearing them apart again after less than 2 years is hard for kids. What a mess.
Say whatever you want about BA, but he seems like a present and devoted father. Prior to the reports about their marriage issues being released earlier this year, J.Lo was barely seen with his kids. She only started to spend more time with them after the breakup reports. BA took care of all 5 kids earlier this year for about 3 months while she was in NYC shooting a movie (Kiss of the Spider-Woman). This was before the Met Gala. And there are lot of pictures of him spending time with her twins without her. Since they got back together, he has always worked in LA to be close to his kids.
BA stepped up and looked after her twins because Marc Anthony is a deadbeat who hasn’t seen them in a long time. The twins didn’t attend his wedding to his new wife, and they didn’t attend his walk of fame ceremony even though they now live in LA. J.Lo told Vogue for her 2022 cover interview that BA and Jennifer Garner have a great co-parenting relationship, but that she and Marc Anthony don’t have that. And she told The View last year while promoting The Mother that BA is an amazing father and watching him be a dad “brings tears” to her eyes.
In 2020, J.Lo was interviewed by the WSJ and said the pandemic was the first time she and her kids had dinner together as a family. I think she’s just using BA’s kids to make herself look good. In case people forgot: she was supposed to be away and on tour for the summer before she cancelled it at the last minute.
SamuelWhiskers +1
None of these recent outings with his kids come from sincerity IMO. She only started to spend more time with them after the breakup reports. That tells me all I need to know. People forgot she was supposed to be away and on tour this summer. This is the same woman who told the WSJ in 2020 the pandemic was the first time she and her kids had dinner together as a family.
MidnightSun +100
Yeah, she was rarely seen with his kids on her own before their marriage issues. And BA said in a 2023 THR interview that she doesn’t have a lot of downtime. He on the other hand was pictured many times with her kids without her, and they were sometimes accompanied by some of Emme and Fin’s school friends. The recent People article about how she wants to spend more time with his kids before school and university screams desperation.
I find it ridiculous how some believe she’s doing the emotional lifting considering she’s only been a part of their lives for 3 years. It’s nice they all seem to get along and spend time together, but honestly, how long is that gonna last? Especially whenever the divorce gets finalized. She didn’t spend a lot of time with his kids before the split reports, and now she’s using them to look good and send a public message.
If someone ever publicly embarrassed me as Ben did by bursting the ‘Greatest story ever told’ both in emotional and professional sense, costing me a whole year schedule … Then proceeded to erase himself from our house, refer to our marriage as ‘a fever dream or ‘temporary insanity’… I’d never set foot in his house!
Well I guess I have less tolerance than you do – if a man cancelled our wedding 3 days before my 14 bridesmaids and 400 guests arrived (that was rumored, don’t know if it was fact) I would never rekindle anything with him no matter if 18 years had passed and my mother (of all people) still pined for him. Some things like public humiliation despite the sugar coat he put on it (blaming the press) are not forgivable.
JL has been papped looking at other homes in CA not NY. Emme will see Finn. These 2 girls seemed to have bonded as friends. I think both JL & JG will continue to support this friendship. It was also reported that Ben’s new house has an open door policy for JL’s children. Ben doesn’t want to live with JL, obviously that is why he bought his own home. ( and why prior to this was living in a rental)
I am sure that it will be a huge adjustment for Ben, Jen, Finn & Samuel when Violet leaves for college soon (she is going to be on the East Coast)