It’s no secret Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck have a rather tumultuous history together.
They first got together back in 2002 and instantly became Hollywood’s most paparazzi-hounded couple—so much so that Lopez centered the video for her 2002 hit “Jenny From The Block” on their tabloid drama.
After split in 2004both have had multiple marriages and engagements, and Affleck has had a lengthy struggle with alcoholism.
But after Lopez and Affleck got back together in July of 2021 and got married in July 2022, the couple have seemed to have found their happy place at last.
A recent video clip, however, seems to suggest Lopez and Affleck’s relationship might not be quite as blissful as previously thought, and fans think they know why.
A clip from the premiere of “Shotgun Wedding,” seems to show Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck arguing.
The clip, from TikTok creator @alliworkscarpets, shows a seemingly tense moment between the couple at the January 18th premiere, held at the TCL Chinese Theater in Hollywood.
At first glance, the clip seems to just show Affleck and Lopez in an off-the-clock moment having a simple conversation as Lopez has a drink.
But a closer look seems to reveal a moment of tension—Affleck looks defensive, while Lopez seems to glare at her husband suspiciously.
As always, TikTok sleuths were immediately on the case trying to suss out what might be going on between the two of them, and one TikToker seems to have cracked the case.
A lip-reading TikToker claims Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez were arguing about Affleck’s drinking.
Lopez’s 1999 hit “Let’s Get Loud” playing in the background makes it impossible to hear what the couple is saying to each other.
But TikToker @life_with_matt seems to have figured out what words are being exchanged.
He claims Affleck said to Lopez, “I didn’t drink anything, okay?”
Lopez then gives Affleck a firm glare while she sips what appears to be a glass of wine.
Life_with_matt then says Affleck said, “Jen” in a frustrated way as he gestures towards her defensively.
It’s of course impossible to know if @life_with_matt’s interpretation is accurate, but his suggested lip-reading certainly seems to match the clip.
Lopez’s sipping of what appeared to be alcohol set off alarms for many commenters, given that she famously avoids liquor in order to maintain her youthful skin.
In 2016, Lopez told US Weekly“I don’t drink or smoke or have caffeine. That really wrecks your skin as you get older.”
This led several TikTokers to wonder if the drink Lopez was sipping was actually Affleck’s.
One TikToker wrote, “Jennifer Lopez doesn’t drink alcohol so she must have been testing what [Affleck] was drinking.”
But others assumed the cocktail was probably Lopez’s, and wondered if her drinking around Affleck was having a negative effect on his sobriety.
As one user put it, “I think it’s so sad that she knows his struggles with alcohol and she’s drinking in front of him.”
Affleck has struggled with alcoholism since at least the 1990s and has had repeated stays in rehab.
Affleck first stop drinking after starring in “Good Will Hunting” with best friend Matt Damon in 1997, and later sought treatment in 2001 after filming “Pearl Harbor.”
He has had several rehab stints since, including one in 2018 after his ex-wife Jennifer Garner, whom Affleck married in 2005, staged an intervention.
Affleck infamously went on to blame his alcohol relapse on his rocky marriage to Garnerwhich officially ended in divorce in 2018 after the two announced their split in 2015.
A year after getting sober following Garner’s 2018 intervention, Affleck was photographed leaving a 2019 Halloween party intoxicated.
Affleck has since revealed that he’s been doing well in his struggle with alcoholismbut that he has had “a few slips” with his sobriety along the way.
Fans are now wondering if Affleck has had a few more “slips” since reuniting with Lopez.
More recent footage seems to show Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck happy together, however, and successfully co-parenting Affleck and Jennifer Garner’s three children.
If the “Shotgun Wedding” premiere got dramatic, things seem to have smoothed over quickly.
Lopez and Affleck were spotted alongside Garner attending her and Affleck’s 13-year-old daughter Seraphina’s music recital the following week.
Lopez was seen helping usher Affleck and Garner’s youngest child, son Samuel, 10, into the venue as he greeted Affleck’s mother Christopher Anne Boldt.
And Affleck was also recently spotted hanging out with Garner and her boyfriend John Miller.
Affleck and Garner also have a third child, daughter Violet Anne, 17, while Lopez has 14-year-old twins Emme and Max with ex-husband Marc Anthony.
Every relationship has its troubles, of course, but at least Affleck and Lopez’s current relationship seems more “big happy blended familythan the ever-swirling drama of their Y2K-era partnership.
John Sundholm is a news and entertainment writer who covers pop culture, social justice and human interest topics.
.
