The web was in a frenzy after Jennifer Lopez and ex Ben Affleck have been noticed cozying up to one another on the New York Metropolis premiere of her new film, Kiss of the Spider Lady, on October 6. The previous couple regarded fully comfy as they posed for images with their arms round each other and shared a fast, intimate chat in between pink carpet interviews. Memes about Bennifer 3.0 circulated — together with the hashtag #BenniferForever — as followers excitedly posted about the opportunity of a romantic reunion.
It was quickly revealed Affleck was there to assist the movie as an government producer, to not hard-launch a reconciliation with Lopez, 56. Based on sources, the actress — who cut up from Affleck in August 2024 after two years of marriage (they ended their first engagement in 2004) — has no real interest in getting again along with the actor, 53. “There's nothing occurring between them,” one supply tells Us Weekly. The booked and busy star is prospering on her personal, and centered solely on her children (she and ex Marc Anthony share twins Max and Emme, 17) and her profession (she's incomes Oscar buzz for her efficiency in Kiss of the Spider Lady). “Jen feels extra comfy in her pores and skin than ever,” says a second supply. “There's a way of independence and peace about her. She's in a very good headspace proper now.”
It took time for Lopez to heal, however, says the second supply, “she's accepted [her relationship with Ben] ran its course.” The actress opened up concerning the divorce in a September interview on CBS Information Sunday Morning, calling it a “robust time” earlier than noting that it in the end turned “the most effective factor that ever occurred” to her. “It helped me develop in a manner I wanted to develop, [to] change into extra self-aware,” she added. “I'm a special individual than I used to be final 12 months.” A 3rd supply tells Us Lopez is “grateful for the teachings she's discovered” from her marriage to Affleck. “She has no regrets.”
Engaged on Kiss of the Spider Lady — the musical wrapped manufacturing roughly two months earlier than Lopez filed for divorce — was a welcome distraction. “Each second I used to be doing this position, I used to be so blissful,” she instructed CBS Information. “Then again residence, it was not nice. It was like, ‘Oh, how do I reconcile this?'” She channeled her ache into the undertaking — particularly when taking part in the character of Ingrid. “[She] was feeling like she was cursed in love,” she instructed USA At the moment. “I used to be very fortunate, as a result of it does come out within the efficiency.”
In 2024, her skilled life hit a low level with the lackluster gross sales of her album This Is Me… Now and the next cancellation of her This Is Me… Reside Tour that Might — however with Kiss of the Spider Lady, she feels redeemed. “She's coming off a excessive with the film opening,” shares the third supply. “It's fueling her confidence; she feels on high of the world.”
The second supply says Lopez has been channeling all her vitality into her work. In August, she wrapped her month-long abroad tour, Up All Evening. Subsequent up, she'll star alongside Brett Goldstein within the Netflix rom-com Workplace Romance and is heading to Las Vegas for her Up All Evening residency, kicking off in December. The third supply says that she's engaged on finalizing new music as effectively. “She seems like she has much more to provide,” provides the supply. “It's just the start.”
Lopez and Affleck are in a very good place. “There's nonetheless numerous love between them, however they each perceive they shouldn't be married,” the second supply explains. “There is no such thing as a ‘So-and-so did this' or ‘This was the large occasion,'” Affleck stated of the cut up in April. “It's only a story about individuals attempting to determine their lives and relationships in ways in which all of us kind of usually do.”
He additionally sang Lopez's praises on the premiere of Kiss of the Spider Lady, telling Further that his ex-wife “actually does all of it on this film.” Lopez credited Affleck with serving to get the movie made in her CBS Sunday Morning interview, saying, “I instructed him, ‘It is a position that I used to be born to play,' and I wished to do it, and he stated, ‘OK,' and he helped make it occur.”
Regardless of the nice and cozy phrases, a fourth supply emphasizes that the exes' red-carpet look was “a piece factor” and that they not have a “deep” relationship. Throughout an October 15 sit-down with Howard Stern, Lopez joked, “As soon as I'm executed, you're lifeless to me.” She added, “Like, not lifeless to me, however positively like, it's over. I'm gonna transfer on.” Lopez “doesn't actually communicate with Ben,” says the fourth supply. “She's extra more likely to communicate with the youngsters; that was very real.”
Lopez's twins and Affleck's three kids stay shut. (He shares Violet, 19, Seraphina, 16, and Samuel, 13, with ex-wife Jennifer Garner.) In September, Lopez was noticed procuring and grabbing lunch with Samuel in L.A. “All of them attempt to preserve some sort of normalcy after divorce,” says the second supply. “The transition was robust for everybody, however they've made an effort to remain related and nonetheless spend time collectively.” Max and Emme stay a high precedence (the twins have been additionally in attendance on the October 6 premiere). “Irrespective of how busy she will get, her children come first,” says the second supply. “She plans the whole lot round being current for them.”
Lopez instructed Stern she's made a aware effort to be much more current for her children lately. “When the pandemic occurred, I obtained to remain residence, [and] I noticed I have to be extra residence with them on a regular basis,” she defined. “I noticed how a lot they wanted me there. It wasn't nearly me giving them an incredible life.”
Twin time! Jennifer Lopez has shared loads of candy moments along with her children, Emme and Maximilian “Max” Muñiz, through the years. The Grammy winner gave beginning to her and Marc Anthony's twins in 2008, 4 years after marrying the “I Must Know” singer. (Lopez and Anthony subsequently cut up in 2011.) The Atlas star completely […]
The star, who's been divorced 4 occasions, has lengthy centered romantic partnerships. However courting is the very last thing on her thoughts proper now. (Living proof: it's her longest stretch with no accomplice since she shot to stardom.) “The extra self-aware I change into with the teachings that I be taught and the hardships that I'm going via, the extra I really feel entire and full alone,” she instructed Gayle King on CBS Mornings in early October. (She did observe she's nonetheless “100%” a “hopeful romantic.”)
In her chat with Stern, the radio host requested her if she believed she'd ever really been beloved. “No,” Lopez replied, noting that what she's discovered is “not that I'm not lovable. It's that they're not succesful [of love.] They don't have it in them… [but] they gave me what they'd.” Reflecting additional, she added, “and I didn't love myself.” It's one thing she's been engaged on since ending issues with Affleck. The third supply says she's been specializing in self-care and recognizing her self-worth. “She's studying that she's stronger alone,” notes the third supply. “She's having fun with the liberty and feels liberated [to make] selections with out compromise.”
She's locked in on what's forward. “After the whole lot that went on in her private life, she's centered on doing what she loves most, which is performing and creating,” says the second supply. Talking to Stern concerning the Kiss of the Spider Lady awards chatter, Lopez admitted it “can be nice” to attain an Oscar nod. (She was famously snubbed for her efficiency in 2019's Hustlers.) “You wish to win, in fact, all people needs to win,” she shared. “However on the finish of the day, it's like, you notice [it] doesn't actually matter… You might be nonetheless within the dialog of the most effective individuals on this planet doing what they do and that's superb.”
Shifting ahead, Lopez is targeted on herself, her children and her profession. “She doesn't have anyone to consider romantically, which is working for her and preserving her centered,” says the fourth supply. “Being single is absolutely working for her in that respect.”
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