From ‘multiple calls daily’ to her showing up at bachelor pad… all signs Ben Affleck regrets split with Jennifer Garner
WHEN Ben Affleck finally married Jennifer Lopez two decades after he first proposed, it seemed like a fairytale ending for the lovestruck couple.
But on their second wedding anniversary in August last year, Lopez filed for divorce — leaving the pair facing a messy break-up.
Since then, who has Ben turned to time and time again for support and guidance? Not his best friend Matt Damon, or brother Casey.
But his ex-wife and mother to his three children, Jennifer Garner.
Now, sources have told The Sun that he is not just in touch with her to offer “parental support” — he also calls her multiple times a day and has started to think that perhaps he chose the wrong Jen.
Last week, Ben, 52, was seen cuddling up to Garner a decade after their marriage crumbled amid heartbreaking claims he slept with their nanny.
She has even been spotted visiting his home in Brentwood, California, where Ben has lived alone since splitting from J-Lo again.
Our source said: “Jen (Garner) often visits Ben at his new bachelor pad. She was enormously helpful in helping him rebuild his life and stay on track when things started to fall apart with J-Lo.
“She didn’t interfere or pass judgment. That’s not Jennifer’s style at all.
“Instead, she helped Ben with whatever practicalities he needed, encouraged him to stay strong and follow his gut with whatever decision he needed to make.”
Our source added: “They talk every single day. He calls her multiple times and spends as much time with her as he possibly can.
“They enjoy meals together, family days, trips to the park, other activities with the kids — all pretty healthy, wholesome stuff.”
He and Jen have three children together — Violet, 19, Fin, 16, and 13-year-old Sam. But insiders say their relationship is now about much more than putting on a united front for the kids.
The source added: “It’s true she was never a huge fan of J-Lo, but she never trash-talked her.
“If anything, she was saddened things didn’t work out (for Ben and J-Lo) because she wants nothing more than for Ben to be settled and happy.”
Ben was due to marry Lopez after their whirlwind romance in 2003, when they were affectionately known as Bennifer.
But the wedding never happened due to the pressures of fame. They eventually tied the knot in 2022, but lasted barely two years.
Now, friends say the superstar singer feels “betrayed” after a video emerged of Affleck pulling his first wife close then hugging her around the waist during a paintballing party for their son earlier this month.
Although Deadpool actress Garner, 52, has been dating tech CEO John Miller on and off since her messy divorce from Ben in 2018, they have not been seen together in weeks.
“Right now, Jen is still dating John and Ben is respectful of that,” added our source. “Ben likes the guy and recognises that he’s a gentleman who respects boundaries and is a solid, kindly type of character.
“He’s not going to disrespect Jen’s choices by making a move.
“But it’s an open secret amongst Ben’s friends that he’d jump at the chance to date her again. Essentially he’s waiting in the wings. Only time will tell if Jennifer wants to turn back the clock and give Ben another chance.
“J-Lo is known to be extremely upset by all this talk about Ben and Jennifer getting back together. She always suspected that he was still holding a candle for her.
‘Number one girl’
“Even at the height of their rekindled romance, it was as though she could never compete.
“She feels very manipulated and played by Ben, like he was never truly honest with her and that he always regarded Jennifer, not her, as his number one girl.”
Ben and J-Lo are said to be barely speaking as they struggle to sell the $60million Beverly Hills mansion they bought together.
The source added: “She really hoped to have a far closer relationship with Ben once they split — something similar to what he shares with Jennifer (Garner).
“But instead, he’s pretty much ghosted her and spends every waking moment he can with Jennifer. It’s a real kick in the teeth.”
Garner continued to call Affleck the “love of my life” after their split — which they announced a day after their 10th wedding anniversary.
The actress said: “You can’t have three babies and so much of what we had . . . he’s the love of my life.”
She also gave an insight into the notoriously grumpy actor’s personality when she added: “He’s just a complicated guy. When his sun shines on you, you feel it.
“But when the sun is shining elsewhere, it’s cold. He can cast quite a shadow.”
Ben met Jenny From The Block singer Lopez in 2002 on the set of their movie, Gigli.
Despite being married to second husband Cris Judd at the time, she said: “I really felt when I met Ben, ‘OK, this is it’.”
Within months, they were engaged, but the wedding was called off at the last minute and they parted ways in January 2004. The following year, Ben wed 13 Going On 30 actress Garner.
But that marriage was blighted by Affleck’s long-standing battle with alcoholism. And the couple’s happiness crashed down in 2015 when he was accused of an affair with nanny Christine Ouzounian, which he denies.
Ben only added to the misery in a 2021 interview, when he said: “Part of why I started drinking was because I was trapped.”
He later apologised for the blunt remarks, claiming he was “vulnerable” at the time, adding: “The idea (was) that I was blaming my wife for my drinking.
“To be clear, my behaviour is my responsibility entirely.”
When he relapsed in 2018, Garner — who he was no longer with by that point — staged an intervention.
She arrived at his home with a lawyer and a Bible to drive him to his third rehab stint, stopping off to get him fast food on the way.
But then Affleck got back with J-Lo, and she gushed about the “beautiful story” that meant they got a “second chance”.
She said: “It was so painful after we broke up (the first time).
“Once we called off that wedding 20 years ago, it was the biggest heartbreak of my life. I honestly felt like I was going to die.
“It sent me on a spiral for the next 18 years where I just couldn’t get it right. But now, 20 years later, it does have a happy ending. It’s the most would-never-happen-in-Hollywood ending.”
Bored to tears
The couple wed at a Las Vegas chapel in July 2022, followed by a second ceremony in Georgia the following month. But sources claimed the cracks were already beginning to show during their honeymoon in Italy.
Ben looked miserable as paparazzi pursued them, while J-Lo appeared happy to play up to the cameras.
Sources later claimed that Ben was just getting sober when he fell for Lopez again.
They added of the honeymoon: “When they weren’t in front of the cameras, they would barely speak to each other during what was meant to be the happiest time of their life.
“He sold her on him being a changed man and that lasted a very short time.”
Another source said: “He was just getting sober. He was in a vulnerable state, and whatever their chemistry (was) played into that . . . he was in a frenzied, excitable state.”
J-Lo was also seen berating her husband at the 2023 Grammys, when he looked bored to tears. The couple have also been spotted seemingly rowing in public.
The big question now is whether Ben can tempt back his original Jen — and whether, after all the hurt, she will even want him.