Jennifer Lopez is a traditional girl at heart.
Following her marriage to Ben Affleck in July 2022, Jennifer Lopez was asked if she would ever “want Ben to be Mr. Lopez,” and the “Love Don’t Cost a Thing” singer could only laugh at the idea.
“No! It’s not traditional,” she said. Popular In a November 2022 profile titled “How Jennifer Lopez Lived Happily Ever After,” Lopez revealed that she filed for divorce from Affleck on Tuesday, August 20, and that she has chosen to legally become Mrs. Affleck following their marriage.
“There’s no romance there,” she added about Ben becoming “Mr. Ben Lopez.”
“This feels like an act of power, you know? I feel in control of my life and my destiny and I feel empowered as a woman and as a person.”
This question is The New York Times The article was published just days after her wedding, and in it the paper’s style editor Stella Bagby mocked Lopez for taking her husband’s last name.
“I think a woman taking a man’s surname is one of the most public acts of submission one can make,” Bagby said, “but it’s especially true for celebrity women who are making money off of their fame.”
The editor goes a step further and asks, “Why? [Ben Affleck] Becoming Ben Lopez? What effect would that have had on his self-esteem?”
Lopez was surprised to hear about the article.
“What? Really?” she asked. “People will still call me Jennifer Lopez, but my legal name is Mrs. Affleck. We’re together. We’re husband and wife. I’m proud of that. I don’t think it matters.”
“I understand that people have their own feelings about it, and that’s fine,” she continued. “But if you want to know how I feel about it, I just feel like it’s romantic. It carries tradition and romance for me, and I guess I’m that type of girl.”
Lopez officially revealed herself to be Mrs. Affleck when she announced her marriage to the Oscar winner in her newsletter, “On the JLo,” concluding with, “With love, Mrs. Jennifer Lynn Affleck.”
Jennifer Lopez said she planned to take Affleck’s last name when the couple got engaged in the early 2000s.
In an interview on July 18, 2003 Access HollywoodWhen asked what her married name would be, she replied, “What do you think my name will be? Am I going to change it professionally? I think I’ll be with Jennifer Lopez.”
“But my name is, obviously, Jennifer Affleck,” she clarified.
She added that she was going to write “Jennifer Affleck” on the notepaper.
When interviewer Pat O’Brien teased her about becoming “J.Aff” instead of “J.Lo,” the singer joked, “The name doesn’t sound good, but sacrifices have to be made.”
In the same interview, Affleck said of Lopez, “She’s a lot more traditional than I expected.”
The “If You Had My Love” singer chose to file for divorce on the second anniversary of her second wedding to Affleck. She filed the divorce papers alone, without the help of an attorney. The documents listed the couple’s separation date as April 26, 2024.
According to reports, the two stars did not have a prenuptial agreement, which would put their considerable assets at risk in a potentially contentious divorce.
According to one report, Lopez felt that Affleck “had no interest” in making their marriage work and decided it was time to split.
