The last few years have not always been kind to Ben Affleck. Is marriage to Jennifer Lopez making him happy again?
Ben Affleck (50) seems to have finally found happiness after a turbulent few years. And that of all things in his old love Jennifer Lopez (53). The couple, who were engaged in the early 2000s, recently tied the knot in Las Vegas. The two seem to be inseparable. Is this the reboot for Affleck, who has struggled with addiction issues, bad movie reviews and a divorce in the past?
Affleck was born Benjamin Géza Affleck-Boldt on August 15, 1972 in Berkeley, California. His middle name, Géza, caught some people’s eye recently when he and J.Lo’s wedding certificate was released. The name is dedicated to a Hungarian Holocaust survivor who was a friend of the family. As a child, his mother explained to Affleck what had happened in the Holocaust and that men like Géza were “brave and selfless”. “This name is a tremendous honor for me”, told Affleck at the 2015 Writers Guild Awards of America.
Affleck grew up in Cambridge, Massachusetts with his mother Chris, father Timothy and little brother Casey (47). When he was eleven years old, his parents divorced. The marriage suffered mainly from the father’s alcohol addiction. Later, Ben Affleck himself repeatedly made a name for himself with alcohol dropouts. Over the years, he undertook several withdrawal therapies and was treated in clinics. The last time he was caught drunk in public was in late 2019.
Ben Affleck and Matt Damon: A Friendship for Life
When he was 13, Affleck went to Mexico with his mother and brother to film a children’s show. During the year that the family spent in Central America, the young actor learned Spanish. Back in Cambridge, he attended Rindge and Latin High School. There he attended theater courses and became close friends with a certain Matt Damon (51). Little did they know at the time that they would one day become a successful scriptwriter and actor duo.
Throughout his childhood and adolescence, Affleck was able to land minor acting roles, be it in independent films, series or commercials. He later moved to Los Angeles to attend college, where he also directed student films on the side. His first leading role was in the comedy Glory Daze (1995). His breakthrough came two years later with the romance Chasing Amy (1997).
Affleck experienced the first major highlight of his career in the same year. Since 1992, he and Damon have been working on a script originally written by Damon. Years later, “Good Will Hunting” would develop from this. Both Affleck and Damon starred in the film adaptation of their screenplay. Starring alongside them was Robin Williams (1951-2014), who won an Oscar for his performance as a supporting actor. But not only Williams was rewarded with the golden boy. Damon and Affleck also received an Academy Award for their screenplay.
His love life: ups and downs
Affleck was also successful in his love life. After separating from his childhood sweetheart, he met fellow actress Gwyneth Paltrow (49) in 1997. The two had an on-off relationship and finally separated in October 2000. After that, a sort of fateful encounter ensued, if the testimonies of the two involved are to be believed. Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez dated from 2002 to 2004. The two met on the set of “Love with Risk – Gigli”.
Affleck and Lopez became tabloid favorites, with no one escaping them. The press even affectionately dubbed the couple “Bennifer,” a nickname that still sticks with them to this day. But love shouldn’t last forever. In 2004, the two broke off their engagement. From then on, Bennifer went their separate ways.
Actress Jennifer Garner (50) was to become his first wife. The two met and fell in love on the sets of “Pearl Harbor” (2001) and “Daredevil” (2003) – in 2005 the two married. Together they have three children. Daughter Violet Anne (16), daughter Seraphina Rose Elizabeth (13) and son Samuel (10). But marriage wasn’t meant to last forever either. Affleck and Garner announced their separation in June 2015 and filed for divorce in April 2017.
“During the divorce, terrible lies were told,” Affleck recounted in 2021 in an interview with The Howard Stern Show. “The truth is, we took our time, we made this decision. […] We lived apart. We had a marriage that didn’t work out,” he said. Both he and Garner didn’t want their marriage to be a role model for their children. While there were tensions here and there over disagreements during the divorce, that’s all run amicably.
Bennifer: Old love never rusts
Especially in the 2010s, Ben Affleck had to deal with a lot of negative headlines. Be it his divorce and his drinking problem or an alleged gambling addiction and bad film reviews – the actor got his fair share of the press. In particular, his performance as Batman in “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice” was rejected by many fans. Meanwhile, Robert Pattinson (36) became Batman.
Nevertheless, the director, who received a second Oscar in 2013 for his film “Argo”, should find his luck again. And in his old love. In early 2021, rumors began circulating that Affleck and Jennifer Lopez were dating again, some 17 years after their split. Then in the spring of the same year the public outing: Bennifer are a couple again! The two showed up on vacation, on the red carpet, everywhere. But does love last this time?
At least the singer and the Hollywood star said yes spontaneously in Las Vegas this year. They tied the knot in a small ceremony with their children at the famous Little White Chapel in Sin City. Although the two seem more in love than ever, they keep their love life together mostly private.
What’s next for Ben Affleck is unknown. He is said to have cameo appearances as Batman in both The Flash and Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom. He also wants to be active again as a director and producer. Most recently, however, he enjoyed his honeymoon in Paris. Together with his loved one, he admired the sights of the city of love.