Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck not speaking to divorce attorneys: Insiders

Welcome to The Scoop — the ultimate back-to-the-office water cooler cheat sheet, your go-to source for all things everyone really wants to know! Get the latest on everything from the political swamp maneuvering in D.C. to Hollywood drama to jaw-dropping small-town shenanigans from Paula Froelich. Subscribe to her newsletter here. 

(NewsNation) — As they say, where there’s smoke, there’s fire — but, at least with Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez, that’s not the case… yet.

Lopez spent Mother’s Day in Paris, with her child Emme — while her husband was 5,600 miles away in Los Angeles celebrating with his ex-wife Jennifer Garner and their children. To make matters worse, Lopez is not particularly fond of Garner — and the two, while distantly friendly, do not speak. 

“Jennifer loves Mother’s Day,” a friend of Lopez’s told me. “I was shocked Ben wasn’t with her for the big day. She loves being pampered and having special days.”

Then the photos of Lopez house hunting with her longtime producer Elaine Goldsmith-Thomas hit the papers this week, even though Lopez and Affleck dropped $60 million in cash for a Beverly Hills mansion last June.

And the rumor mill went into overdrive.

So let’s sort out what we know:

Lopez has been having a horrific 2024.

The movie she funded about her life, “The Greatest Love Story Never Told,” as well as her documentary, both flopped. The documentary was bought by Amazon (so numbers are hidden) and became the butt of social media jokes. TikTokers viciously mocked Jenny from the Block, and the New York Times savaged it.

Her first studio album in 10 years, “This is Me… Now” was also critically panned by critics and fans alike — the New York Post even going so far as to say “is giving us “Gigli” all over again” — and also flopped, debuting at 38 on Billboard charts and falling fast.

The tour “This Is Me… Now” sold so badly that seven cities were canceled, and it had to be rebranded as “This Is Me… Live,” featuring her greatest hits instead of the treacly love songs from her latest album. I’m even told it has been suggested to Lopez that she scraps the tour altogether—– something she is unwilling to do.  

Then there was the disastrous Met Gala earlier this month. On a night that should have been her crowning glory — where, after decades, she returns to her hometown as the co-chair of society and fashion’s biggest event of the year… she was alone

With Affleck nowhere in sight, Lopez snapped at reporters on the red carpet and afterward, went home alone… before leaving for Paris. 

(Regarding Lopez house hunting in Los Angeles, I don’t put too much stock into that as Lopez has several homes in the Los Angeles area, including a condo in Encino, a house in Malibu, and of course her Beverly Hills home. Over the years she has amassed a real estate portfolio worth over $120 million — either as personal homes, investments, or homes for family members.)

Meanwhile, Affleck has been shooting “The Accountant 2” in Los Angeles, getting burned for his unfunny, expletive-riddled roast of Tom Brady and being questioned about his “gaunt” appearance.

Fun times, eh?

But while no one is speaking to a divorce attorney (yet), a friend of Affleck’s tells me he doesn’t see how the two will work out in the long run.

“They don’t really have much in common,” the pal told me. “He’s way more low-key. He likes to hang with the guys and is a homebody. She likes the glamour, and the pomp and circumstance. He is an addict (Affleck has dealt with drugs, alcohol, and gambling issues over the past few decades), she is sober and doesn’t drink, do drugs, or gamble.”

And while opposites attract, it may be that Lopez’s paean to their love was a curse.

Reps for the couple didn’t return emails.

Related articles

Holidays observance; the end of petitioning; Sabres in the playoffs

Happy Passover! Happy Easter! Congress has gone home, which is usually...

Happy International Fact-Checking Day

April 2 is International Fact-Checking Day, purposefully set the...

GOP Oversight chair hit with bipartisan demands to enforce Bondi deposition



Every since Attorney General Pam Bondi was fired last week, it has left the unsettled question of whether she still has to sit for the upcoming congressional deposition, where among other things she was set to be asked about the Jeffrey Epstein case files.

The GOP-led commission has stated Bondi won't attend. In a letter to House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer (R-KY) revealed on Wednesday, Reps. Ro Khanna (D-CA) and Nancy Mace (R-SC) demanded that he publicly clarify she does, in fact, still have to participate.

"We moved to subpoena Pam Bondi, and the Committee voted to approve this motion on a bipartisan basis, because the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) still has not complied with the Epstein Files Transparency Act ... and because serious questions remain regarding the DOJ's non-compliance and their handling of the investigation into Jeffrey Epstein and his associates while she was Attorney General," said the letter.

Bondi's dismissal as AG, they wrote, "does not diminish the Committee's legitimate oversight interests in seeking her sworn testimony or the need for accountability and information about files withheld from the public by the DOJ. On the contrary, it makes her sworn testimony even more important, especially with respect to actions she took as Attorney General, matters already under investigation, and decisions made under her leadership."

The handling of the Epstein files was reportedly at least one of the reasons Trump decided to remove Bondi, a longtime MAGA loyalist who oversaw a number of prosecutions of Trump's political enemies, from the Justice Department.

Bondi's abrupt reversal on the files, telling the public there was no "client list" and nothing new of note in the files after she had spent months hyping it up to Trump supporters, played a huge part in fracturing the MAGA coalition and reducing public support for the president. Since legislation was passed compelling the release of all Epstein files, Bondi also presided over the department as it slow-walked that process and blew through important legal deadlines.

"The American people deserve answers about whether Congress was misled and whether information is being withheld by the DOJ," said the letter, telling Comer, "We ask you to publicly reaffirm that Pam Bondi must appear on April 14 for a sworn deposition as ordered or face appropriate enforcement if she refuses to comply."