Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck’s divorce was finalized this February. In the time since, sources revealed to Us Weekly that the former couple’s relationship has evolved. They aren’t as close as they used to be, but they remain on good terms.
“They’re not in contact very often,” one source said.
A second source confirmed that they don’t talk much but are “in a place where they know they can call or text at any time and be cordial.”
A third source shared how their blended family dynamic has changed. Lopez’s children, 17-year-old twins Emme and Max, became close to Affleck’s three kids, 19-year-old Violet, 16-year-old Fin, and 13-year-old Samuel, during their relationship.
“Ben and J.Lo have taken a step back from each other,” the insider said. “They’re still in touch, but they were more so during the divorce because they had a reason to be, especially for the kids. The blended family vibe has softened with distance, but there’s still lots of love.”
That insider spoke about how Affleck looks back at their most recent romance, which lasted from spring 2021 to spring 2024. “Ben never really liked the public aspect of their relationship,” the source explained. “[He] was frustrated with the Bennifer 2.0 nickname and never really comfortable with it all.”
“He and J.Lo moved so fast,” they added. “In the future, he’ll be more cautious [as he dates again]. He’s much more centered and reflective now.”
Affleck spoke about why he and Lopez divorced in his recent GQ interview. He acknowledged the public’s interest, saying, “I guess there’s a tendency to look at breakups and want to identify root causes or something. But honestly...the truth is much more quotidian than probably people would believe or would be interesting. Yeah, there’s no scandal, no soap opera, no intrigue. The truth is, when you talk to somebody, ‘Hey, what happened?’ Well, there is no: ‘This is what happened.’ It’s just a story about people trying to figure out their lives and relationships in ways that we all sort of normally do.”
He shut down speculation that their differing attitudes toward fame caused their split. “There are a lot of people who I think have handled celebrity more adeptly and more adroitly than I have, Jennifer among them,” he began. “My temperament is to be a little bit more reserved and private than hers. As happens in relationships, you don’t always have the same attitude towards these things. And so I thought, Oh, this is interesting because how do you reconcile that? Because exactly what you said is true. I love and support this person. I believe in them. They’re great. I want people to see that. And I think the thing that I said in that documentary [The Greatest Love Story Never Told, which explored the making of Lopez’s album This Is Me...Now] or the piece that they used was where I said, You don’t marry a ship captain and then say, ‘Well, I don’t like going out in the water.’ You’ve got to own what you knew going into any relationship. And I think it’s important to say that wasn’t the cause of some major fracture. It’s not like you can watch that documentary and go, ‘Oh, now I understand the issues that these two had.’”
He added in a second discussion with the outlet that he has “a lot of respect for” Lopez and no judgement regarding their different perspectives on fame.
