Ben Affleck Feels ‘Pressure’ With Jennifer Lopez, Would Rather Spend Holiday With Jennifer Garner, Source Says

Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez are officially ending their marriage. Lopez served Affleck with divorce papers in August 2024 after two years of marriage. Affleck did not spend Thanksgiving with Lopez and instead chose to go to Jennifer Garner’s house to spend the holiday with her children. Here’s what a source said about Affleck feeling “pressure” while with Lopez and wanting to spend Christmas with his first ex-wife instead.

Ben Affleck is ‘pulled in opposite directions’ for vacation, source says

Ben Affleck enjoys a close friendship with his first ex-wife, Jennifer Garner. The couple married in 2005 – a year after Affleck’s failed engagement to Jennifer Lopez – and they remained together until 2015. Garner and Affleck finalized their divorce in 2018 and vowed to stay friends for the sake of their children. Now, the exes are spending time together and celebrated Thanksgiving 2024 as a family with their three children: Violet, 19, Fin, 15, and Samuel, 12.

A source told In Touch Weekly that Affleck feels “pulled in opposite directions” with Lopez and Garner, as Lopez reportedly wants to spend the holidays with Affleck and their blended family.

“On the one hand, J.Lo is telling him that he should spend more time with her because the blended family situation is so new and it’s vital that they all get off to a good start post-divorce and establish simply a model,” said an insider. “And then Jen pushes him to spend time with her and their kids together.”

Affleck “fully recognizes that their children are very close,” the source added, but that “doesn’t necessarily mean vacationing together.” The insider noted that Affleck feels much more comfortable around Garner and prefers to spend Christmas with her. Other sources claim that Affleck and Garner have already planned their vacation after their happy Thanksgiving.

“He’s so comfortable with her; there is neither tension nor pressure; he can totally be himself,” they noted.

Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner’s daughter wants to keep in touch with Jennifer Lopez

Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez’s children seemed to get along very well. And Lopez developed a particularly close relationship with Affleck’s daughter, Violet. Photos from summer 2024 showed Lopez and Affleck’s daughter spending a lot of time together in the Hamptons. Most recently, photos showed Violet hanging out with Lopez’s sister.

“Violet has a strong attachment to J.Lo and her family,” another source told DailyMail.com. “It’s quite confusing for Ben and Jen (Garner) because they don’t understand why Violet is so keen to keep her close.”

The source added that Affleck and Garner have no problem with their daughter choosing who she dates. However, they didn’t think she should have posted a photo with Lopez’s sister. “Ben and Jen think Lynda and Violet could have spent time together and even taken a cute photo together without it being posted online for the world to see,” the source continued.

Another source claims that Jennifer Garner encouraged her ex to continue working on his marriage to Jennifer Lopez.

Jennifer Garner didn’t want Ben Affleck’s marriage to Jennifer Lopez to end. A source told Page Six that Garner remains “supportive” of Affleck and Lopez’s relationship.

“When things started to get rocky between Ben and Jennifer (Lopez), Jen was very supportive of their relationship and encouraged Ben to work on their marriage,” the source claimed. Garner “had even become friends with Jennifer and they communicated regularly.”

While Garner has reportedly “not been in contact” with Lopez since the filing, she “has no issues” with Lopez and “just wants Ben to be happy.”

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