When I last posted about Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez a couple of days ago, I wondered, after seeing the photos of them together in Miami last week when we’d next get an update, predicting that they might make us wait a couple of weeks. Wrong. In retrospect… how would that have even been possible?
JLo loves love. JLo will immerse herself in it whenever she can. And, you know, Ben’s kinda the same way. Let’s not put the speed of this situation solely on her. Back in the day, the intensity came from both – he was just as into her as she was into him. And now, in 2021 (!!! I still can’t get over this), I feel like it’s the same. JLo was seen getting on a private jet earlier this week and it turns out she was headed to LA. According to PEOPLE, she’s in LA “for business reasons, but also wanted to spend time with Affleck”. JLo is an empire so no doubt she’s got work to do with Los Angeles and, you know, since her boyfriend is there, all of that tracks, although PEOPLE’s source says it’s not like she’s going to be in LA permanently. "They will continue to travel back and forth between Los Angeles and Miami. They are very happy together."
So happy that, supposedly, Bennifer is “slowly starting to talk about the future” because “this is not a casual relationship”. Like… was anyone out here thinking it was casual? I’m not talking about how long it will last. Serious relationships can also be short ones. And while we don’t know whether or not Bennifer 2021 will last, there’s a lot here to suggest that it’s definitely serious.
Page Six has the new shots of Bennifer out for dinner this week in LA with their arms around each other, unmistakably a couple. They’re calling it a “romantic” dinner but it looks like they were joined by a few people. There’s a woman in the backseat of the car and the man that Ben hugs at one point resembles, to me at least, JLo’s manager, Benny Medina. Remember, his name came up that time in the TMZ url when they first got back together? So Ben’s already hanging out with JLo’s crew or, to put it more accurately, he’s reconciled with her crew because Benny was around during the first Bennifer era.
If this is indeed Benny Medina in the photos, there’s an added layer of intrigue. If you recall, Benny was repping JLo when Bennifer first started…but during the relationship, JLo and Benny fell out and they actually ended their professional relationship after a lot of drama. She then switched agencies and was repped for a while by Patrick Whitesell, who is Ben’s agent. If you are unfamiliar with this situation, here’s the NYT report on it from 2003. JLo and Benny broke up before Bennifer did. Things were so ugly at one point that it was Ben Affleck, apparently, who “stepped in to broker a resolution”.
JLo and Benny got back together in 2008 and he’s been managing her ever since. And now, all these years later, Bennifer is also back together. So, again, if this is Benny Medina, it’s a reunion on multiple levels. And if it is Benny, he’s clearly in support of Bennifer – not only evidenced by that TMZ url but with all these hugs being throwing around. Right now, Bennifer seems to be surrounded by a lot of positivity and encouragement. So I repeat, LET’s NOT SPOIL IT. Let it be a good Summer of Bennifer (at least).
Attached - Ben picking up his son from swimming lessons yesterday in LA.
