Ben Affleck’s Famous Friend Hasn’t Been ‘Anywhere Near’ Affleck Since Jennifer Lopez Divorce Rumors Emerged
Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez seem closer to divorce than ever. Rumors circulated about the couple in April 2024, and by July 2024, Affleck bought his own place in Los Angeles without Lopez while Lopez spent ample time on the East Coast away from her husband. Affleck’s friend, film director and producer Kevin Smith, admitted that he hasn’t been “anywhere near” Affleck since the rumors began.
Film director Kevin Smith says he hasn’t been ‘anywhere near’ Ben Affleck since the divorce rumors began
Kevin Smith and Ben Affleck go way back. The director met the actor during the audition for Mallrats in 1994, and the duo made movies together for years after. The friends hit a snag in their friendship and were estranged for a decade. However, Smith reached out to Affleck in 2018 after experiencing a widowmaker heart attack. He texted Affleck, and the two reconnected to start making movies again.
Smith knows Affleck and Jennifer Lopez well, as he attended the couple’s Georgia wedding in 2022. Unfortunately, Smith hasn’t kept up with Affleck since the divorce rumors began around April 2024.
“Obviously, he’s been going through a thing, or at least that’s what it says in the press and whatnot,” Smith told People at San Diego Comic-Con on July 27, 2024. “I, being his least trustworthy friend who’s very loose-lipped …. My wife was like, ‘Oh, you should reach out to him.’ I was like, ‘The last person he needs to hear from right now is the guy who chats a lot.’ So, when he’s in a good place, he’ll let me know.”
Smith added that he plans on reaching out to Affleck soon for the new Jay and Silent Bob film.
“We shoot in the fall, so I’ll be reaching out to him,” Smith explained. “He may even come play, but I haven’t been anywhere near the situation. I keep reading. You guys have been providing most of the information that I know.”
Kevin Smith called the couple’s Georgia wedding ‘so incredibly beautiful’
Kevin Smith has seen Ben Affleck go through several milestones in his life. The friend likely saw the beginning and end of Affleck’s marriage to Jennifer Garner. And he might also see the end of Affleck’s marriage to Jennifer Lopez.
In August 2022, Smith spoke to People about Lopez and Affleck’s wedding, which they held at Affleck’s Georgia estate. The couple first tied the knot in Las Vegas in July of that year and celebrated with friends and family in a bigger ceremony the following month.
“Hands down, [it was] one of the five most beautiful moments I’ve ever experienced in my life, and it had nothing to do with me,” Smith said at the time. “I was a bystander for it. I know them, and so it makes it warm and wonderful. But even if I didn’t know these two — but I just knew the story and the history — it was so incredibly beautiful.”
Smith noted that Affleck looked “healthy and happy” for his wedding day and was “radiating f***ing joy.” As for Lopez, she “radiated it right back.”
Ben Affleck allegedly leaned heavily on his other friend, Matt Damon, for support
Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez never expected to divorce. Several insiders alleged that Affleck leaned on his ex-wife, Jennifer Garner, for support and sought guidance from Matt Damon. A source told In Touch Weekly that Damon and his wife, Luciana Barroso, want space from Affleck.
“Matt and Ben are planning to make another movie together in the near future, and that’s taking up most of their time, but he’s under no obligation to be part of Ben’s personal pity party over whatever problems he’s having with Jennifer or his kids,” the insider said, according to Yahoo. “Ben has to deal with that stuff himself, and that’s always been Matt and Lucy’s position, even during the best of times.”
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