Jennifer Lopez is opening up about married life, and not via her newsletter this time.
In her latest profile with Vogue for their December issue, the 53-year-old discusses rekindling with her former boyfriend, Ben Affleck, her decision to take his last name when they got married, and co-parenting with their famous exes.
Here are the six biggest takeaways from the interview.
The author of the profile, Rob Haskell, opens the November 2022 profile setting the scene.
He writes how Lopez is currently on set filming her latest movie, Atlas, a sci-fi action thriller where she plays a military intelligence analyst.
Their interview takes place in Lopez's on-set tent. And despite her being dressed in costume, she's still very Hollywood.
"Her favorite candle flickers on a cream-coloured faux-shagreen desk, and a black Hermès blanket is draped over the massage table," Haskell describes the tent.
"In the little living room, a marble chess set rests on a marble coffee table, and above it hangs a green neon sign whose soft cursive reads 'Mrs. Affleck.'
"It was a gift from the crew," he adds.
Almost two decades after their first engagement ended, 'Bennifer' reunited in 2021.
Lopez had just ended her relationship with retired baseballer Alex Rodriguez, aka A-Rod, while Affleck had just stopped seeing actress Ana de Armas.
He sent Lopez an email.
Affleck wrote how a magazine had asked him to provide a comment about his former girlfriend, and he wanted to let her know he had.
They kept talking and eventually caught up at home.
"Obviously we weren’t trying to go out in public," Lopez tells Haskell.
"But I never shied away from the fact that for me, I always felt like there was a real love there, a true love there.
"People in my life know that he was a very, very special person in my life. When we reconnected, those feelings for me were still very real."
The couple got engaged in April 2021 and officially married in July of that year.
"I don’t know that I recommend this for everybody," she says.
"Sometimes you outgrow each other, or you just grow differently. The two of us, we lost each other and found each other."
"Not to discredit anything in between that happened, because all those things were real too," she adds.
Image: On The JLo.
Just a few days after their wedding, Lopez faced criticism over taking Affleck's last name.
The New York Times even published an opinion piece titled, "Why It Matters That J. Lo Is Now J. Aff".
"People are still going to call me Jennifer Lopez," she tells Vogue.
"But my legal name will be Mrs. Affleck because we’re joined together. We’re husband and wife. I’m proud of that. I don’t think that’s a problem."
She adds how it wasn't because it's traditional to do so.
"No! It’s not traditional. It doesn’t have any romance to it," she says. "It feels like it’s a power move, you know what I mean?"
"I’m very much in control of my own life and destiny and feel empowered as a woman and as a person. I can understand that people have their feelings about it, and that’s okay, too," she continues.
"But if you want to know how I feel about it, I just feel like it’s romantic. It still carries tradition and romance to me, and maybe I’m just that kind of girl."
Slight contradiction, but sweet. Very sweet.
Bennifer were everywhere when they first dated - gallivanting through the streets of New York, red carpet appearances, and appearing in the singer's 'Jenny from the Block' music video.
"We were so young and so in love at that time, really very carefree, with no kids, no attachments. And we were just living our lives, being happy and out there," she says.
"It didn’t feel like we needed to hide from anybody or be real discreet. We were just living out loud, and it turned out to really bite us."
Image: Getty.
While the couple were extremely happy, the tabloids tore Lopez and their relationship apart.
As a result, Lopez has become guarded with her relationships.
"I realised that [the tabloids] will fillet you," Lopez adds.
"I really wish I could say more. I used to be like that. I am like that. But I’ve also learned."
Now this one's just plain cute.
Back when they were Bennifer 1.0, Affleck gave Lopez the nickname "Little" because of their high difference. (He's almost a foot taller.)
When they got back together, he wasn't sure whether the pet name would still stick, but it did.
Image: Getty.
Lopez and Affleck co-parent five children.
Yep, there's the singer's 14-year-old twins with her ex-husband, Marc Anthony, and the actor's three children from his marriage to Jennifer Garner, ranging in age from 10 to 17.
Lopez calls Garner, "an amazing co-parent, and they work really well together."
"The transition is a process that needs to be handled with so much care," the performer said about co-parenting.
"What I hope to cultivate with our family is that his kids have a new ally in me and my kids have a new ally in him, someone who really loves and cares about them but can have a different perspective and help me see things that I can’t see with my kids because I’m so emotionally tied up."
Feature Image: OnTheJLo.
Do you have kids with allergies or hayfever? Complete this survey now to go in the running to win a $50 gift voucher.
Top Comments