Support truly
independent journalism
Ben Affleck was spotted having dinner with Matt Damon days after news of his divorce from Jennifer Lopez broke.
Lopez filed for divorce from Affleck on August 20 following a whirlwind rekindling of their romance – the pair called off their first engagement in the early 2000s.
On Sunday (August 25), Affleck, Damon and Damon's wife Luciana were photographed at the Los Angeles restaurant Toscana. The photos were published by People magazine.
Affleck and Damon have been friends for decades after co-writing and co-starring in the 1997 Oscar-winning drama Good Will Hunting.
While Damon, who married Luciana (née Barroso) in 2005, has managed to keep his personal life relatively private, Affleck has often been in the public eye for a string of personal issues including divorce, rumors of infidelity, and addiction.
Last week, it was reported that Lopez requested to drop “Affleck” from her full name, according to court documents.
She requested that her name be restored to what it was before her marriage, “Jennifer Lynn Lopez.”
The “Jenny from the Block” singer listed April 26 as the couple’s official date of separation.
The couple married in a small, private ceremony in Las Vegas on July 16, 2022. They then hosted a more lavish wedding party in Georgia on August 20, 2022, exactly two years before Lopez filed divorce papers.
The divorce filing came after months of speculation about the pair splitting up since Lopez had been spotted on several solo outings in May, such as press events for her movie, Atlas. Fans also noticed that the couple spent the Fourth of July and their wedding anniversary this year apart.
For her 55th birthday last month, Lopez also threw a huge Bridgerton-themed party in New York, which Affleck did not attend. On the same day, the Air director was seen on the opposite coast in Los Angeles – without his wedding ring.
Watch Apple TV+ free for 7 days
New subscribers only. £8.99/mo. after free trial. Plan auto-renews until cancelled
Watch Apple TV+ free for 7 days
New subscribers only. £8.99/mo. after free trial. Plan auto-renews until cancelled
Reports had speculated that the reason for the split was Lopez embracing the media attention surrounding their romance, while Affleck has been more reluctant.
The singer self-financed her $20m Prime Video musical film This Is Me … Now: A Love Story, which coincided with the release of her latest album This Is Me … Now.
Along with the visual album, Lopez released the documentary The Greatest Love Story Never Told, which disclosed details about her romance with Affleck.
The doc’s title, The Greatest Love Story Never Told, came from a stack of love letters that Affleck had written to Lopez.
The Hustlers star initially used the love letters as inspiration for her album, digging them up for songwriters she had invited to her house. However, it seemed that Affleck wasn’t on board with his wife sharing their personal letters in the documentary.
Before her split from Affleck, Lopez had been married three times, as she shares her 16-year-old twins, Emmy and Max, with her ex-husband, Marc Anthony. She was also married to Chris Judd from 2001 to 2003 and Ojani Noa from 1997 to 1998.
Affleck was previously married to Jennifer Garner from 2005 to 2018. The former couple share three children, Violet, 18, Seraphina, 15, and Samuel, 12.
