Affleck, Ben

Subterms

    Latest story

    163 Shares109 Views

    As Lopez Files for Divorce From Affleck, Should You Reunite With an Ex-Partner?

    by

    As Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck show, rekindling an old romance is risky. We asked couples counselors what you should ask before diving back in.When the superstars Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck married in 2022, decades after calling off their initial engagement, it seemed like the stuff of a romantic Hollywood blockbuster.“Love is beautiful,” Ms. Lopez wrote after the couple’s Las Vegas nuptials. “Love is kind. And it turns out love is patient. Twenty years patient.”But Ms. Lopez filed for divorce from Mr. Affleck on Tuesday after two years of marriage, ending months of frenzied media speculation about their shaky union, and highlighting a decidedly unromantic truth: Reuniting with an ex-partner does not guarantee a happy ending.“I have certainly seen people who are in long-term happy relationships who got back together after having broken up,” said Elizabeth Earnshaw, a licensed marriage and family therapist in Philadelphia. “I would say that is the exception to the rule.”Many couples counselors said they recommended taking an almost clinical approach to reuniting with an ex — even (or especially) if you are swept up in the thrill of rediscovering old passions. Here are four questions therapists recommend asking.1. Do we both understand why we broke up?That is a “laughably obvious” question to start with, admitted Lisa Marie Bobby, a licensed marriage and family therapist in Denver and the founder of Growing Self, a counseling and coaching service. But if you and your partner cannot both articulate a clear answer without defensiveness or tension, that is a red flag, she said.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

    More stories

    • 100 Shares159 Views

      in Elections

      Jennifer Lopez Files for Divorce From Ben Affleck

      by

      The A-list couple, who married in 2022, had attempted to rekindle their romance after close to two decades.Jennifer Lopez filed for divorce from Ben Affleck on Tuesday after two years of marriage, capping a decades-long romantic history that spawned its own famous portmanteau: “Bennifer.”Ms. Lopez filed the petition to dissolve the couple’s marriage to the L.A. County Superior Court, according to court records. The filing, which was first reported by TMZ, was submitted on the second anniversary of the couple’s lavish wedding celebration at Mr. Affleck’s home in Georgia.Representatives for Ms. Lopez and Mr. Affleck did not immediately respond to requests for comment.The on-again, off-again relationship between Ms. Lopez, 55, a singer and actress, and Mr. Affleck, 52, an actor and director, has been a subject of pop-culture fascination since the early 2000s.The pair began dating while filming the 2003 romantic comedy “Gigli.” Although the movie was panned, the relationship between its stars became “the summer’s most watched romance,” according to an article that year in The New York Times. They got engaged in 2002, but postponed the wedding the following year, citing the media frenzy around their union.The pair split and moved onto other relationships: Ms. Lopez married the singer Marc Anthony in 2004, and Mr. Affleck married the actress Jennifer Garner in 2005. (Both ended in divorce.)In the spring of 2021, tabloids lit up with headlines that Ms. Lopez and Mr. Affleck were dating again. In July 2022, the superstars were wed at a midnight ceremony in Las Vegas, complete with a pink Cadillac convertible. They held a celebration with family and friends in Georgia in August, with Ms. Lopez wearing a Ralph Lauren gown and a sweeping veil.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

    • 113 Shares159 Views

      in Elections

      The Super Bowl Could Make Mint for the NFL

      by

      An overtime classic, featuring appearances by Usher and Taylor Swift, could make this year’s Super Bowl a hugely profitable money-maker for the N.F.L.Did the Taylor Swift effect vault this year’s Super Bowl into the record books?John G Mabanglo/EPA, via ShutterstockThe N.F.L. scores bigIn many ways, the N.F.L. couldn’t have asked for a better outcome for the Super Bowl. It got a thrilling overtime victory that cemented the Kansas City Chiefs as the league’s latest dynasty; a well-reviewed halftime show by Usher; a full roster of pricey ads; and, of course, Taylor Swift in person.It was a powerful reminder of the Super Bowl’s singular perch in America’s cultural landscape, and how that can translate into billions for a juggernaut sports league.The game was a place to see and be seen. Yes, Swift arrived in time from Japan to cheer on her boyfriend, the Chiefs star Travis Kelce. And A-list celebrities like Jay-Z, Beyoncé and LeBron James were spotted at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.Also in attendance were corporate moguls including Elon Musk — who touted a surge in activity on his X social network during the game — Tim Cook of Apple and the Twitter and Block co-founder Jack Dorsey, who was wearing a crypto in-joke T-shirt.The game could set a record. The broadcast, perhaps aided by an army of Swift fans, may surpass the 115 million viewers who tuned in last year, making that the most-watched show in U.S. history. (Viewership for N.F.L. games has rebounded strongly in recent years; the A.F.C. and N.F.C. championship matches on Jan. 28 accounted for nearly 39 percent of national linear TV viewing.)That would help explain why advertisers were still willing to fork over $7 million for a 30-second spot during last night’s broadcast. (More on the ads later.) “In this era of fragmentation, the Super Bowl is what television used to be,” Brad Adgate, a veteran media analyst, told The Times.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

    • 175 Shares159 Views

      in Elections

      Matt Damon and Ben Affleck’s Film Studio Objects to Trump’s Use of ‘Air’ Audio

      by

      Donald Trump’s campaign posted a video using the movie’s audio as part of a fund-raising appeal days after he was indicted on federal charges.A studio founded by the actors Matt Damon and Ben Affleck denounced former President Donald J. Trump’s use of audio from its movie “Air” in a campaign video posted online over the weekend.The video, shared on Truth Social early Saturday, featured a nearly two-and-a-half-minute monologue from the movie that played alongside photos and videos depicting Mr. Trump throughout his life.It was posted, alongside a fund-raising appeal, days after Mr. Trump was indicted on federal charges that he illegally kept possession of national security documents after leaving office and obstructed efforts to return them. He is expected to make his first court appearance in the case on Tuesday.Artists Equity, Mr. Damon and Mr. Affleck’s production studio, aired its objection to the campaign video on Twitter later Saturday.“We had no foreknowledge of, did not consent to and do not endorse or approve any footage or audio from ‘Air’ being repurposed by the Trump campaign as a political advertisement or for any other use,” the organization wrote.“Air” features Mr. Affleck and Mr. Damon, who both have a history of supporting Democrats. The film, a biographical drama, recounts how Nike ascended to a household name by establishing a partnership with Michael Jordan, then a pro-basketball rookie, to create the Air Jordan shoes.The campaign video includes audio of Mr. Damon saying “money can buy you almost anything. It can’t buy you immortality — that, you have to earn,” as an image shows Mr. Trump walking away from a helicopter.The video remained on Truth Social as of Monday afternoon. The Trump campaign did not immediately respond to inquiries seeking comment.A line of celebrities and production studios have publicly disavowed the use of their works during Mr. Trump’s campaigns. In 2018, HBO criticized Mr. Trump’s imitation of material from its television show “Game of Thrones.” And artists including Neil Young, Pharrell and Rihanna have objected to the use of their music during campaign rallies. More

    • 138 Shares149 Views

      in Elections

      Cicada Quiz: 17 Years Since Brood X and Bennifer. Remember When?

      by

      Billions of Brood X cicadas are emerging from their underground tunnels for the first time since 2004. You would think that, between noisy mating rituals and shedding their exoskeletons, they would have a lot to catch up on after 17 years. But imagine a curious Brood Xer scanning this year’s headlines: Another Super Bowl for Tom Brady. The Summer Olympics fast approaching. Two new NASA vehicles exploring Mars. And Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez reportedly dating again … all straight out of 2004 (when “Bennifer” broke up in January).
      OK, so news of politics and the pandemic would definitely raise some insect antennae — and maybe send them burrowing back underground. But to a pop-culture-obsessed nymph, would 2004 and 2021 really seem that different?
      Here’s a chance to see how much you recall about the last time the Bennicadas were buzzing. More