As rumors grow that the marriage of Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez is kaput, the actor was spotted Thursday morning leaving a home in the Brentwood neighborhood of Los Angeles, where he’s reportedly been staying and which is about six miles west of the $60 million family mansion in Beverly Hills that he purchased with Lopez last year.
TMZ published photos Thursday that showed Affleck driving away from the Brentwood house, reporting that the “Air” star and director has been spending the night at the residence and has been seen “coming and going.”
TMZ also reported that Affleck was not spotted at the family mansion the night before, apparently citing accounts from paparazzi who have presumably been staking out both homes. The gossip site surmised that Affleck had spent Wednesday night at the Brentwood house and said it could “confirm” that he had been staying at this address “over the past week or so.”
The TMZ report on Affleck’s possible Brentwood hideaway comes amid other stories speculating on problems in his marriage. The Daily Mail on Thursday cited an In Touch story that said the couple “just couldn’t make it work” and are headed for a split after less than two years of marriage. A source told In Touch that Affleck had already moved out of the marital home — which TMZ appeared to have confirmed with its report Thursday.
“The writing is on the wall – it’s over,” an insider told In Touch, the Daily Mail said. “They’re headed for a divorce — and for once, (Ben’s) not to blame!”
Even with this dire assessment of the relationship, TMZ said that Affleck, 51, and Lopez, 54, have both been seen wearing their wedding rings in recent days, including in the photo of Affleck dangling his arm out of the window of the car, as he drove away from the Brentwood house. As recently as Thursday, Lopez appeared outside a Los Angeles dance studio in front of a mob of paparazzi — wearing her wedding ring, TMZ said.
Then again, Lopez also might have hinted Thursday that she had “broken relationships on her mind” by liking a March 19 Instagram post about the challenges of building “a healthy relationship” with someone who “lacks integrity and emotional safety,” TMZ reported. The post was shared by relationship coach Lenna Marsak, who herself revealed that Lopez liked her post. Marsak also said on the post, “You can’t build a relationship with someone who is disconnected from themselves.”
Meanwhile, the Daily Mail also reported that “Good Will Hunting” actor was seen dining out in Los Angeles Monday evening, not with his wife but with a longtime producer friend. The Daily Mail furthermore said that Affleck and Lopez had not seen in public together for nearly two months, though Lopez was curiously seen house-hunting without Affleck on Tuesday.
Photos captured by TMZ Tuesday showed the mother of two leaving a luxury property in Beverly Hills, accompanied by a woman who appears to be her longtime producing partner. TMZ said it wasn’t clear why Affleck was nowhere to be seen and why the “Hustlers” star might have been “window shopping” for homes — especially after she and Affleck ended their long search for a marital home by purchasing the Beverly Hills mansion last year.
Perhaps the singer/actor/dancer/influencer/entrepreneur is looking for investment property, but her solo house-hunting expedition prompted speculation that she and Affleck “would have to sell their dream home” if they split, the Daily Mail reported.
Earlier this month, she and Affleck separately appeared at two high-profile events. On May 5, Affleck made headlines by going on an angry rant against social media critics at the live Netflix roast for his friend, Tom Brady. In an aggrieved, expletive-laced speech during “The Greatest Roast of All Time: Tom Brady,” Affleck didn’t so much honor Brady as express his own complaints about being someone in the public eye.
Even Affleck realized, in real time, that his speech, meant to honor the NFL great, might not be playing so well. “I don’t think I’ll ever get this chance again. I’m probably never going to work again, actually, after tonight,” the “Argo” star said.
Affleck’s physical appearance at the roast also sparked headlines, with people online speculating that his shiny, smooth face had to be the result of cosmetic surgery and possible pressure put on him by his image-conscious wife.
The following evening, Lopez attended the Met Gala in New York City solo. She was the co-host for the star-studded fashion extravaganza. But many were surprised to see her walk the red carpet without her equally famous husband, even though Affleck’s good friend, Matt Damon, attended the gala with his wife, Luciana Barroso, the Daily Mail said. Reports said that Affleck was working on his next film, “The Accountant 2” and couldn’t get away to attend the Met Gala.
The Daily Mail also said Affleck and Lopez were last seen together in public in New York about seven weeks ago, where they were photographed walking hand in hand on their way to lunch, but the pair “appeared strained, with neither cracking a smile.”
Tensions may have grown between the couple over the release of Lopez’s autobiographical documentary with the rather self-important title, “The Greatest Love Story Never Told.” The documentary tells a behind-the-scenes story about the creation of her latest album, “This Is Me … Now.” But it also focuses on how she and Affleck found their way back to each other after first dating in the early 2000s and becoming engaged before splitting in 2004.
Lopez is depicted as getting “candid” about her personal growth, her struggle to find a suitable romantic partner and her much publicized habit of cycling through relationships, engagements and marriages. Lopez had been married twice before she and Affleck first dated from 2002 to 2004.
After they split, she married singer Mark Anthony, had twins and then divorced him, before becoming engaged to New York Yankees baseball star Alex Rodriguez. Meanwhile, Affleck married actor Jennifer Garner, had three children but famously struggled with alcohol addiction, stints in rehab, professional setbacks and a high-profile divorce from Garner.
Lopez and Affleck reconnected in 2021, either before or after she reconnected with Affleck, according to reports. When they married the following year, Affleck became her fourth husband.
At one point in the documentary, Lopez acknowledged that people are probably wondering, “What is this girl’s (expletive) problem?”
Affleck has a supporting role in the documentary, admitting to the camera that he wasn’t comfortable with having such a public relationship. He said that intense media scrutiny of the relationship when they first dated from 2002 to 2004 was a factor in them splitting just before they got married.
“Getting back together, I said, ‘Listen, one of the things I don’t want is a relationship on social media,'” he said. “Then I sort of realized it’s not a fair thing to ask. It’s sort of, like, you’re going to marry a boat captain and you go, ‘Well, I don’t want the water.’ We’re trying to learn to compromise.”
Still, in other parts of the documentary, Affleck made it clear he didn’t like the way she made aspects of their private life public, calling these private moments “sacred” and rolling his eyes when he recalled how she shared all their old love letters with her friends and colleagues.
Meanwhile, Lopez acknowledged: “I don’t think (Ben) is very comfortable with me doing this, (but) he doesn’t want to stop me.”
The Daily Mail said it had reached out to representatives for both Affleck and Lopez for comment.
The split rumors also come as Lopez is dealing with disappointing sales for her album, her first in 10 years, and for tickets to her “This is Me ….” tour. Lopez’s album peaked at No. 38 on the Billboard 200 albums chart in February, then disappeared, Forbes reported. Lopez faced more disappointment from “weak” ticket sales for her tour, according to Variety. Last month, Lopez canceled seven concert dates in the Southern United States and rebranded the tour to apparently broaden its scope, changing it from “This Is Me… Now” to “This Is Me… Live/The Greatest Hits,” Variety reported.
