I enjoy the fact that Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez are not just doing “dinner dates” and “yacht vacations.” Since they started up, they’ve been spending time with each other’s kids and they’ve done a lot of “blended family” activities. This weekend was full of blended family activities for Bennifer. On Friday, Bennifer took Violet, Seraphina, Max and Emme to see Hamilton at LA’s Pantages Theater. They looked like two middle-aged parents going to a school concert, that was absolutely their fashion vibe and their harried, herding-cats energy. Ben, I think, is in charge of keeping the kids from running all over the place.
TMZ reported that once the curtain closed at the end of the show, Ben and Jen shared a kiss through their masks. They held hands and few people bothered them or their kids, although photographers were spread outside the theater to get photos. Then on Saturday, Ben and Jen took Seraphina, Samuel, Max and Emme to The Magic Castle. Ben’s mom was there, likely to help out with the herding of the children. Or maybe she just likes magic!
According to People, Max and Emme are fine with “starting fresh” in LA and I guess they’ve started school already, or perhaps start school this week. Sources also tell People that it’s one of Ben and J.Lo’s top priorities to spend more time with their kids, all together: “Since Jennifer and Ben are in it for the long run, it’s just a natural step that they all spend time together with the kids. They are not trying to rush anything, but they want all the kids to get to know each other. They are making the last few days of summer as fun as they can. Soon it’s back to school and work.” Again, Ben and J.Lo are both scheduled to be out of LA on separate projects in the fall. This worries me! But maybe everything will be fine.
Photos courtesy of Backgrid.
How much herding do junior high school kids at a Magic Castle matinee need?
Right, it’s acting as if they have a bunch of toddlers at Chucky Cheese. Aren’t they all teens except for Samuel?
Maybe the herding has to do with keeping them protected from the paps, whether or not there are any real concerns of safety. Having seen a video or two of the paps at work yelling at them and the flashbulbs going on, I can feel my own anxiety rising.
My Grandpa was an amateur magician, and had membership at the Magic Castle. This place is a dinner and show place, and not for kids, it’s for adults. My Grandpa proudly took all of his grandchildren there after we turned 18, and it was, indeed, magical. My mind is still blown by some of the shows I saw there, but I refuse to Google and find out how the magicians did whatever. Some of our greatest family dinners were spent there, I feel so lucky that I got to go more than once!
I wonder if JLO keeps in touch with Alex’s girls, she did the same thing to them that she is doing to Ben’s children.
Ben’s children may be getting use to it by now, the Cuban actress was all over them, then the relationship went kaput.
She wished one of them a happy birthday on Instagram after the breakup and left photos of them on her Instagram after the Alex purge, so I’m guessing she’s still in touch with them. Worth remembering that it’s not her fault she doesn’t see them regularly anymore.
it’s a special type of love bombing that only the insecure and unstable do.
Or she could just feel guilty.
@Jan “the Cuban actress?” and “all over them.”
….her name is Ana de Armas and identifying these women in such a way feels a bit derogatory. Do you just not want Violet, Sera, and Sam near latinas?
Not really caring about Bennifer 2.0 but it’s good news that Hamilton is back on the road. Off to check and see when they’ll hit my town so I know when to look for tickets to drop.
I’m in Atlanta and I keep looking at tickets but I just don’t know that I can afford it right now. They are so expensive. I really want to go.
We went last time they were in town and it was awesome. My son will be away at school so we only need 2 tickets. Some people buy an extra ticket to scalp to cover the cost of their own tickets because it’s so pricey but if they catch you doing that they’ll cancel your entire ticket purchase. One of my husband’s employees got $85 tickets at the last minute because they had cancelled someone’s purchase and resold them through the box office.
Enjoying the Leo romance of the summer show. *munches popcorn and smiles*
Same. I’m always happy to see a post about them. Love these pics, except for her shoes lol.
I fear she will sprain an ankle when she falls off those crazy ugly shoes.
They don’t seem ugly so much as heavy. Velvet in the summer is a bit much, but the nights have been very cool. I love that JLO’s daughter has her own style is not quite goth. I love the Doc Mary Janes. I had a pair myself.
do they have a Doc Marten sponsorship or something?
I actually love the pink velvet heaux heels with that dress. (ducking)
Those shoes are hideous! Maybe Ben’s type is women who wear bad shoes.
What in Carrie Bradshaw hell is she wearing on her feet?
Her jacket and dress are gorgeous! The shoes are a bit much but I am loving this outfit so much.
I was just thinking the opposite. She looks like RV curtains mixed with Michael Jackson and a stripper ballerina.
I feel like she’s theme dressing, like I’m going to Hamilton so I’m going to wear my revolutionary war coat. Separately I like what she has on but together I don’t think it works. And honestly, the shoes look kind of stupid. And they’re probably $1200 shoes.
True. LOL!!!
I really like it too. Very fashionable. Not so much the shoes.
I love the dress and blazer too! Are platform heels back in style? I would like them if the platform were smaller but this particular pair are a bit too much.
Reminds me of the sky high heels jessica simpson wears
the shoes are too heavy for such a light dress….she looks great ankles up….those shoes should be burnt
@ Louisa
I think they could be…but separately. The green jacket takes away from her dress. It is a great jacket, but not with that dress! Too much going on with ruffles & gold buttons! And those velvet shoes do not look right with that summer dress. Those shoes do not look comfortable, but they say platform shoes are surprisingly! Ben’s oldest daughter, Violet looked like she was wearing the dress…the dress was not wearing her!
Max was in trouble in one of the pics because she is pointing her finger at him & you can see the frown lines on her forehead, lol!
The blue dress is just not pretty or flattering. I don’t know who that dress would look good on. Maybe irina Shayk or Gal Gadot?
Platform sandals are back in style?
No. I think she was just feeling short. Appreciate though she wasn’t in another crop top for the theater. Maybe she’s changing her style for the Ben era. The next day she was in a Jennifer Garner dress.
Where are Emme and Seraphina getting their clothes? They’re adorable!!
I can tell you that Emme’s double strap Mary Jane’s are doc marten. I literally have the same pair that I’ve owned since 1997!! 🤣
Those heels are hideous. I think she’ll be wearing a lot of those heels because the kids are taller than her lol Jlo has self esttem issues on so many levels.
I love to watch them famewhore, see Arod’s startegy after the end game and now Jgardner is webbing through the soap apera with her on and off boyfriend.
Just looking at those heels makes my back and feet hurt. How do women wear shoes like that for so many years and not suffer intensely when they hit 50? Honestly? How?
They are a beautiful family. A Puerto Rican and an Anglo in love and taking their children to a musical about democracy. It’s inspiring.
+1
Lmao
Ben’s mom was also at Hamilton, unless I missed this in the text above. She’s in the main pic behind them. These pics made me so giddy! I seriously think they’ll go the distance! I love them together so much!!
The kids look like they all got new shoes for school. 🙂 Plus Ben’s daughter (blond with glasses) is so tall already. I know Ben is tall, is Jen Garner tall too?
Yes, Garner is tall too! I think like 5’8/5’9. I’m 5’9 so I always pay attention to which celebrities are tall, LOL. 🙂
@ Green Desert
I do too! I am 5’8 1/2. My husband is 6’2. My dad was 6’4, but my mom was 5’4 & wore very high heels when she dated my dad!
@Carolnr, I love it! When I was young I was a little self-conscious about being tall and I always felt better when I learned that a female celebrity was tall, haha. I learned to love being tall a long time ago but my habit of paying attention to someone’s height has continued!
Divorced parents can date as much as they want, BUT….I really question parents that rush to introduce their new partner or the partner’s kids to their own children. Gaining and losing (quasi) step-siblings could be really stressful for kids! Why not just date Ben and if it becomes a long-term thing, then add the kids? They’ve only been together 4 months!
Maybe it feels different because they were previously engaged. It’s not like they had to do the ‘getting to know’ each other phase. At one point in the past, they saw themselves in it for life.
My parents are each other’s second marriage, and each had one child. As soon as they realized they were getting remotely serious they introduced us individually to the other adult, and then to each other. To them if either of us didn’t like the other adult it was a deal breaker.
I agree — rushing kids in to your relationship is all kinds of wrong. But I’m biased. My dad left my mom and moved in with another woman right away, and my mom moved us all in with her boyfriend just five months into their relationship. Maybe it sounds dramatic, but I felt I’d been abandoned both by my parents — even though I was still living with my mom — because their new partners became their number one focus, and my brother and I took second place. I believe that if you choose to bring kids into the world, they should be your top priority until they leave the nest. I side-eye anyone who brings a relationship into their kids’ lives so quickly, because that relationship usually takes top billing.
Also, in this case (making matters worse), Ben and Jen are two very self-absorbed, attention-seeking people. You can’t convince me those kids feel like they’re the priority in their parents’ lives.
I think they’re going the distance. But I always think that, I’m a fool for love, lol. I actually thought he was going to marry Ana. I still think something big happened there, and it wasn’t cheating. I think kids was the deal breaker, and because it went down so fast I wondered if she didn’t become pregnant, because accidents to happen, and that forced the issue. I mean, who knows. But I thought they were in love.
This here is obviously love though.
I think it might have been the kids argument with Ana too, but I guess we’ll never know. Wonder if they’ll do any joint press for Deep Water.
Ana is a young woman who maybe wanted children of her own. Ben and JLO have had their kids. And. They have known one another for almost 20 years. And are mature enough now to blow off the racist blow back they had to deal with the first time around.
CJ they didn’t split because of what the public thought or said. Maybe they are trying to revise the history. He cheated then got cold feet and wouldn’t marry her, although she even gave him a couple of more months to reconsider. Good reasons for JenL to kick him out the door.
Who knows why Ana left but their breakup was nasty. Don’t think it was for the reason they gave – she didn’t want to live in LA – although it looks like she doesn’t anymore.
They ended up calling things off for good in January 2004. But it wasn’t until 2008 that Affleck opened up about the split. He said that he and Lopez “made a mistake” by falling in love, getting excited, and being “too accessible.”
In a 2016 interview, Lopez echoed that sentiment.
“We just happened to be together at the birth of the tabloids, and it was like, ‘Oh my God.’ It was just a lot of pressure . . . I think different time different thing, who knows what could’ve happened, but there was a genuine love there,” Lopez said.
Yeah yeah yeah. And now they’re being too accessible again and coming close to people being sick of their fame whoring once again so I guess they know that wasn’t the real reason.
So nobody notices Samuel has two different color socks?
That’s his daughter, Seraphina.
I wore mismatched socks all the time when I was a teenager. I think it’s a phase some kids (who are probably slobs who don’t bother matching their socks, or maybe that was just me, lol) go through.
Her shoes look ridiculous! Clodhoppers!
People Magazine: “They are not trying to rush anything…” My God, who are they kidding?
I was very disappointed to see JLo scolding her son while others were around. He’s at the age he will remember she embarrassed him in front of those people he’s getting to know. IMO, she should have done that more discretely. Also, if he does not want to be there she should have been more understanding. Just four months ago Arod and his girls were his family.