Jennifer Lopez’s new movie, Atlas, hits Netflix this week. Is it perfect timing or sh-tty timing that she and Ben Affleck are on the cover of the new issue of PEOPLE because “their marriage is not in the best place at the moment”? 

 

I’m curious if this cover was thrown together at the almost last minute. Because there’s actually another cover that PEOPLE just released this morning for this week. The dates on both are the same – June 3, 2024. And that cover looks to have had a longer lead time because it’s about Nicole Brown Simpson, ahead of the release of the new Lifetime documentary about her life and tragic death that premieres on June 1.

 

But, since Bennifer has been such a heatscore over the last few days, and with so much speculation out there about what’s really happening between them, PEOPLE clearly was able to secure enough commentary from a good source or sources to throw together an alternate cover about one of the most famous couples in the world. 

 

As I wrote yesterday, much of the reporting about Bennifer up to this point has implied that SHE’s the problem, because of the way she performs her celebrity. Some asshole told Page Six that Ben has finally “come to his senses” and now that he’s over his “temporary insanity”, he wants out of the marriage. Yay for misogyny, I guess, but when you consider that Ben himself has spoken of the sexist and also racist overtones in the coverage about them when they were first together over 20 years ago, whoever this source isn’t doing him any favours. 

The PEOPLE story is more measured and, overall, the main takeaway is that Bennifer is not over… yet. This is a rough patch, they may not get over this rough patch, but it doesn’t sound like any firm decisions have been made. Nor does it sound like there’s any one person who’s at fault. 

 

They are, however, leaning into the theory that Bennifer is struggling to balance their different approaches to fame, in a slightly kinder, more respectful way. 

“She likes to open her heart to her fans and to the world,” a music source says of Lopez, who is residing in the couple’s $60 million Beverly Hills marital home while Affleck bunks in a rental a few miles away. “He is more introspective and private. This has been difficult day-to-day.”

“Despite Affleck’s participation in The Greatest Love Story Never Told (and other projects, like her 2002 music video for “Jenny From the Block”), a film source says he’s never been completely comfortable showcasing his romance with Lopez to the world. 

But at the same time, he has never wanted to stand in the way of who she is as an artist. “He’s always been impressed about how she works so hard and has achieved so much success,” says the film source. “But the openness and promotion is not his way.”

According to PEOPLE’s source, that’s not the only disconnect – apparently it also comes down to personality, period, over and above fame: 

“Lopez, who self-financed This is Me...Now: A Love Story and the documentary and is launching a 30-show North American tour this summer to promote her new album This is Me...Now, can get irked that Affleck is not as “structured or disciplined in general as Jennifer,” says the film source. “This is not a bad thing. But it causes frustration.”

 

JLo always has a plan, a schedule, she’s always working – here it comes: she’s always hustling. That’s not how Ben works, he isn’t as regimented as she is, and if this really is one of the issues, neither one is wrong. And neither is better than the other. But my reflex already is to guard against the interpretation, because throughout her career, and even more so now as she gets deeper into her 50s, the criticism against JLo is that she does too much, wants too much, is TOO MUCH. And, you know, shouldn’t women just be happy with what they have? Why does this bitch insist on wanting MORE? As if MORE isn’t the founding essence of our goddamn capitalist existence! But is it that only certain people are allowed to want more? 

Maybe that’s me jumping too far ahead. My husband, Jacek, always says I have a tendency to get what he calls “pre-mad” – angry about something that hasn’t even happened yet. Still, as we have seen, there’s been a current of judgement about Bennifer that too often comes back to her and her too muchness, whether it’s how much she takes on, how many times she falls in love, or how much she enjoys her celebrity, which happens to be something she’s actually good at, better than most. But that’s the thing about fame. So many people chase it, but nobody is supposed to LIKE it, at least not openly. 

What’s missing, in my opinion, in the discourse about this relationship in crisis is that, well, when Bennifer got back together three years ago, it’s not like Jennifer Lopez, in 2021, was… low-key. Or has ever been low-key. She was, is, and will be exactly what we know her to be. Never the kind of celebrity who dives into the dumpster to avoid being photographed. Never the celebrity to limit her social media activity. Never the celebrity to “no comment” her way down a red carpet. Did Ben Affleck go into this thinking he was marrying Adam Driver? She wasn’t a different person when they reconciled. So why are we out here trying to make it look like she scammed him?! 

 

PEOPLE’s online story about Bennifer ends on this note: 

“The film source says it’s too soon to say what will happen to the couple. “I don’t know if they will split, or if this is something they will work through,” says the source. 

One thing is certain: Though they have problems, Affleck and Lopez also share a deep bond that spans two decades. Says the music source, “There have always been clashes in their styles and how they handle issues, but nothing has stopped their love over the years.”

JLo was in Mexico yesterday promoting Atlas in a gorgeous robe dress trying her best to radiate her signature glow. Ben meanwhile was actually on set on The Accountant 2 on Monday when her film premiered in LA and last night went for dinner at Giorgio Baldi with friends and with his wedding ring. They of course know that they’re in the news right now. So the presence of the ring, at this point, to me, has to be seen as a choice. The choice, at least for today, is ring on, marriage on. At least for today. 

We're Squawking about Bennifer today. Join us! (app link here)