Jennifer Lopez Details How 2nd Romance With Ben Affleck Began: Revelations From Her ‘Vogue’ Cover Story

Credit: Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP/Shutterstock

Jennifer Lopez Details How 2nd Romance With Ben Affleck Began: Revelations From Her ‘Vogue’ Cover Story

How it started! Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck's 2021 reunion made tons of headlines, and now the Hustlers star is finally opening up about how it all went down. The "Get Right" songstress, 53, detailed her romance with the Oscar winner, 50, for the December cover story of Vogue magazine, published on Tuesday, November 8. "I always felt like there was a real love there, a true love there," the New York City native said of the Argo director. "When we reconnected, those feelings for me were still very real.” The twosome — who were initially engaged from 2002 to 2004 — reconnected in early 2021 after Lopez split from ex-fiancé Alex Rodriguez. The Shades of Blue alum said that Affleck reached out to her after providing a quote about her for a magazine. [jwplayer ObFqwNjd-zhNYySv2] The JLo Beauty founder didn't specify which article she was referring to, but the Justice League star was quoted in a May 2021 InStyle cover story about Lopez that appeared online in early April of that year. The Marry Me actress and the former baseball player, 47, announced their split less than two weeks after the article was published. “I thought I had a good work ethic, but I was completely humbled and blown away by what she was committed to doing day in and day out, the seriousness in which she took her work, the quiet and dedicated way she went about accomplishing her goals, and then how she would go back and redouble her efforts,” Affleck gushed about his then-ex at the time. “She remains, to this day, the hardest-working person I've come across in this business. She has great talent, but she has also worked very hard for her success, and I'm so happy for her that she seems, at long last, to be getting the credit she deserves.” He added: “Where are you keeping the fountain of youth? Why do you look the same as you did in 2003 and it kind of looks like I'm in my 40s … at best?” After Affleck tipped off Lopez about his gushing quote, the duo stayed in touch, and the rest is history. The Good Will Hunting writer proposed for the second time in April, and the twosome tied the knot in Las Vegas in July. The following month, they had a second ceremony at Affleck's home in Georgia that was attended by their friends, family and children. The Live by Night director shares Violet, 16, Seraphina, 13, and Samuel, 10, with ex-wife Jennifer Garner, from whom he split in 2015. Lopez, for her part, shares twins Max and Emme, 14, with ex-husband Marc Anthony. “Ben and Jen are still in their honeymoon phase,” an insider exclusively told Us Weekly in October. “They are very head over heels for each other. Becoming husband and wife hasn’t changed their relationship much, except for the fact that it solidified what they had." Keep scrolling for more revelations from Lopez's Vogue cover story.

Credit: Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP/Shutterstock

Jennifer Lopez Details How 2nd Romance With Ben Affleck Began: Revelations From Her ‘Vogue’ Cover Story

How it started! Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck's 2021 reunion made tons of headlines, and now the Hustlers star is finally opening up about how it all went down. The "Get Right" songstress, 53, detailed her romance with the Oscar winner, 50, for the December cover story of Vogue magazine, published on Tuesday, November 8. "I always felt like there was a real love there, a true love there," the New York City native said of the Argo director. "When we reconnected, those feelings for me were still very real.” The twosome — who were initially engaged from 2002 to 2004 — reconnected in early 2021 after Lopez split from ex-fiancé Alex Rodriguez. The Shades of Blue alum said that Affleck reached out to her after providing a quote about her for a magazine. [jwplayer ObFqwNjd-zhNYySv2] The JLo Beauty founder didn't specify which article she was referring to, but the Justice League star was quoted in a May 2021 InStyle cover story about Lopez that appeared online in early April of that year. The Marry Me actress and the former baseball player, 47, announced their split less than two weeks after the article was published. “I thought I had a good work ethic, but I was completely humbled and blown away by what she was committed to doing day in and day out, the seriousness in which she took her work, the quiet and dedicated way she went about accomplishing her goals, and then how she would go back and redouble her efforts,” Affleck gushed about his then-ex at the time. “She remains, to this day, the hardest-working person I've come across in this business. She has great talent, but she has also worked very hard for her success, and I'm so happy for her that she seems, at long last, to be getting the credit she deserves.” He added: “Where are you keeping the fountain of youth? Why do you look the same as you did in 2003 and it kind of looks like I'm in my 40s … at best?” After Affleck tipped off Lopez about his gushing quote, the duo stayed in touch, and the rest is history. The Good Will Hunting writer proposed for the second time in April, and the twosome tied the knot in Las Vegas in July. The following month, they had a second ceremony at Affleck's home in Georgia that was attended by their friends, family and children. The Live by Night director shares Violet, 16, Seraphina, 13, and Samuel, 10, with ex-wife Jennifer Garner, from whom he split in 2015. Lopez, for her part, shares twins Max and Emme, 14, with ex-husband Marc Anthony. “Ben and Jen are still in their honeymoon phase,” an insider exclusively told Us Weekly in October. “They are very head over heels for each other. Becoming husband and wife hasn’t changed their relationship much, except for the fact that it solidified what they had." Keep scrolling for more revelations from Lopez's Vogue cover story.

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How Their 2nd Romance Started

The Second Act star explained that Affleck first reached out to her in early 2021 after she and Rodriguez called it quits. They began talking and seeing each other at their respective homes. “Obviously, we weren’t trying to go out in public,” she recalled. “But I never shied away from the fact that for me, I always felt like there was a real love there, a true love there. People in my life know that he was a very, very special person in my life. When we reconnected, those feelings for me were still very real.”

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What She Learned From Their 1st Romance

Lopez and Affleck were originally set to wed in September 2003, but they called off the ceremony after "excessive media attention." The "Waiting for Tonight" songstress hinted to Vogue that the public nature of their relationship caused problems at the time. “We were so young and so in love at that time, really very carefree, with no kids, no attachments," she explained. "And we were just living our lives, being happy and out there. It didn’t feel like we needed to hide from anybody or be real discreet. We were just living out loud, and it turned out to really bite us. There was a lot underneath the surface there, people not wanting us to be together, people thinking I wasn’t the right person for him.”  

Lopez went on to say that she became "very guarded" after their 2004 split. "I really wish I could say more," she added. "I used to be like that. I am like that. But I’ve also learned.”

Credit: Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP/Shutterstock

Why She Took His Last Name

After the duo's surprise Las Vegas wedding, Lopez made headlines when she confirmed in her newsletter that she took her husband's last name. The New York Times subsequently published an op-ed by novelist Jennifer Weiner that described the move as "especially dispiriting" for women. 

Lopez, however, said that she doesn't see the issue. “People are still going to call me Jennifer Lopez. But my legal name will be Mrs. Affleck because we’re joined together," she told Vogue. "We’re husband and wife. I’m proud of that. I don’t think that’s a problem.” She added that she doesn't see the change as "traditional" at all. "It doesn’t have any romance to it," the Shotgun Wedding star explained. "It feels like it’s a power move, you know what I mean? I’m very much in control of my own life and destiny and feel empowered as a woman and as a person. I can understand that people have their feelings about it, and that’s OK too. But if you want to know how I feel about it, I just feel like it’s romantic."

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Her Relationship With Jennifer Garner

Lopez praised the Juno star, 50, as an "amazing coparent" who works "really well" with Affleck when it comes to raising their kids. "The transition is a process that needs to be handled with so much care,” she added, explaining how their respective children reacted to their parents' marriage. “They have so many feelings. They’re teens. But it’s going really well so far. What I hope to cultivate with our family is that his kids have a new ally in me and my kids have a new ally in him, someone who really loves and cares about them but can have a different perspective and help me see things that I can’t see with my kids because I’m so emotionally tied up.”