They were back in a car together. In 2018, Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner — who’d split three years prior — made headlines when she was spotted driving the emotional actor to rehab, but the exes were in a much better place when they piled into his Mercedes on September 15 in L.A. As their middle child, Seraphina, 14, sat in the front passenger seat, smiling Jen leaned forward from the rear of the vehicle to hug her former husband, who closed his eyes in contentment behind the wheel.
Two weeks later, on September 26, now-sober Ben was seen picking Jen up again, this time in Santa Monica, and riding off with her by his side.
To say Ben and Jen are amicable exes would be an understatement. But for his new wife, Jennifer Lopez, the pair have grown a little too close lately, an insider tells Life & Style, and she’s instructed Jen to back off! “The jealousy J. Lo feels over their deep connection is intense,” notes the insider. “She believes Ben lied to her about his friendship with Jen — their bond is stronger today than when they were married — and she let Jen know she doesn’t appreciate how much of her husband’s time Jen has been taking up. They’re currently in a big fight over Ben.”
Lashing Out
It was just last November that J. Lo, 54, praised Jen, 51, as “an amazing coparent,” telling Vogue that Ben, 51, and the mother of his three children — Violet, 17, Sera and Samuel, 11 — “work really well together.” “Their peaceful co-existence is definitely over,” spills the insider. “Rumor has it that J. Lo and Jen exchanged texts about Jen’s closeness to Ben and things got heated. Jen even canceled some of their planned get-togethers a a blended family because of the tension between the two of them.”
The new Mrs. Affleck’s ire hasn’t been aimed solely at predecessor Jen. “J. Lo rages when she gets jealous or feels threatened, and Ben has been on the receiving end of her wrath,” claims the insider. “J. Lo has demanded that Ben spend less time with Jen and focus more on her instead, screaming at him: ‘She’s your ex-wife for a reason!’”
Ben hasn’t helped the strained situation. “Jen still carries a lot of weight with Ben, and he often seeks out her advice. He even told J. Lo how he relies on Jen like never before and how much he respects her opinion on a myriad of topics,” shares the insider. “It left J. Lo speechless. She was absolutely furious.”
Old Alliance
Ben and J. Lo were famously together first. Engaged in 2022, the original Bennifer postponed their wedding in 2003 before the twice-divorced singer and her beau eventually called the relationship off for good in 2004. After she had a third broken marriage and another ended engagement under her belt — to Marc Anthony, 55, and Alex Rodriguez, 48, respectively — the long lost lovers reunited in 2021. Last summer, they tied the knot twice, eloping in Las Vegas before throwing a lavish wedding at Ben’s Georgia estate. “I feel so lucky and happy and proud to be with him,” J. Lo has gushed of hubby No. 4. “It’s a beautiful love story that we got a second chance.”
But Jen and Ben have a lot of history, too. In fact, he admitted in 2020 that their failed 10-year marriage “was the biggest regret of my life.” “I am a giant fan of Jennifer. She’s just a fabulous person,” Ben’s also said post-split. “She’s somebody that I admire and respect.”
According to the insider, Ben appears to have shown disrespect toward J. Lo recently. “Ben’s reliance on Jen as a confidante may have crossed the line,” reveals the insider. “He’s made some shocking confessions to her about J. Lo’s temper and the ugly texts she sends him, which he shouldn’t have done. He admitted that her notorious diva attitude can be very hard to handle.”
Down-to-earth Jen, who continued to call Ben “the love of my life” after their breakup, “really does want to like J. Lo, for the kids’ sake. Ben is making that difficult, though,” shares the insider. “His latest gripes changed her perspective.”
Yet, for all of his supposed complaints, “Ben has insisted to J. Lo that she’s the only woman for him and that he just cares for Jen because of the children and what they’ve been through,” says the insider, adding that Jen herself has been in an on-and-off romance with CaliBurger CEO John Miller since 2018. “But that didn’t do much to relieve J. Lo’s concerns. She’s insisting that Ben make her his No. 1 priority again — not Jen.”
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