Blood is thicker than water — and apparently, Ben Affleck needed to be reminded of that during his relationship with Jennifer Lopez.
An insider close to the soon-to-be-divorced pair told People that Lopez helped him “become a family man again.”
The “Let’s Get Loud” singer, 55, and the “Argo” director, 52, prioritized their loved ones after they rekindled their romance in 2021, almost two decades after calling off their first engagement in 2003.
“Family is very important to both of them, and together they were family people — and the connection doesn’t end,” the source revealed of the once-blended family.
Affleck and his ex-wife, Jennifer Garner, with whom he remains extremely close, share three children: Violet, 18, Seraphina, 15, and Samuel, 12. Lopez has two 16-year-old twins, Emme and Max, from her marriage to her third husband, singer Marc Anthony.
Lopez filed for divorce from Affleck on Tuesday, August 20, after two years of marriage and cited the date of separation as April 26.
The “Hustlers” actress spent time with Violet in the Hamptons earlier this summer. She also attended a limited number of events for the kids despite being separated from Affleck for nearly four months before pulling the trigger on their marriage.
While the insider claimed “the connection doesn’t end,” Lopez no longer wants Affleck’s surname. She filed to legally drop her ex’s famous last name in her divorce documents, asking the judge to restore her name to Jennifer Lynn Lopez after announcing she changed it to Jennifer Lynn Affleck after they said, “I do” in July 2022.
Breakup rumors began swirling in May when it was revealed that Affleck moved out of their $60 million marital mansion. The now exes have since put the home on the market, with the actor buying his own bachelor pad for a whopping a $20.5 million.
They further fueled the separation speculation in July when Lopez hosted her 55th birthday in the Hamptons without him and when they failed to spend their second anniversary on the same coast.
Lopez and Affleck reportedly did not sign a prenuptial agreement before they walked down the aisle — meaning all the earnings, profits and assets they made during their union could be considered community property. Lopez also chose not to request spousal support and asked the judge not to award Affleck support either.
When the pair revealed they were back together after almost 20 years apart, several friends expressed concern over how quickly they went from dating to marriage, including Lopez’s movie mother-in-law from hell, Jane Fonda, but the “Love Don’t Cost a Thing” singer laughed off each warning.