Similar to what Kourtney Kardashian and Travis Barker did earlier this year, Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez tied the knot in an Elvis-themed Vegas wedding on July 19. The couple had only been engaged since April, but apparently, they wanted to be husband and wife sooner rather than later. Bennifer fans are ecstatic about the news, and they’re not the only ones. Even Affleck’s famous ex-girlfriend Gwyneth Paltrow had some thoughts about the JLo wedding.
In terms of timeline, Ben and Gwyn were the “it” item before Ben and Jen. They dated from 1997 to 2000 after meeting on the set of Shakespeare In Love, the romantic drama that earned Gwyneth Paltrow her first and only Oscar win. Ben Affleck then began dating Jennifer Lopez for what was their first time, which was followed closely by their first engagement that eventually fell apart. Obviously, they have now managed the I do’s – almost 20 years later – and Paltrow evidently thinks it’s just so “romantic.” The notorious Goop founder reacted to the wedding on her Instagram stories, as can be seen here:
Romantic, indeed. Some might even say it was a long time coming… Kinda like how Gwyneth Paltrow’s return to acting would be a long time coming, given how the actress hasn’t had a film role since Avengers: Endgame in 2019. However, Paltrow claims to be happily retired herself from showbiz while she focuses on her wellness brand. As for the former Batman actor’s other ex, his former wife Jennifer Garner that is, she was spotted hanging out with JLo’s kids weeks prior to the nuptials, but it appears she wasn’t given much of a head’s up about the Vegas wedding, according to some reports.
Instead of a big celeb to-do, Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez opted to quietly get married at the Little White Wedding Chapel. It didn’t stay quiet for long, though. The couple who were waiting in line alongside the stars to get their marriage licenses spoke out about the brief encounter with the A-listers. The eventual wedding ceremony was relatively humble, per JLo’s account on her newsletter. Still, it was special to them nonetheless, to include a wedding dress the bride borrowed from an old movie of hers. (Internet sleuths are still on the hunt for the film in her extensive movie catalogue that featured the dress in question, with no such luck as of yet.)
And again, much in vein of how Kourtney and Travis Barker did things, the former Gigli stars are reportedly following up their elopement with a bigger and flashier second wedding at a special location. (Hint: it won’t be in the Bronx, but it has some history.) Which is good because reports indicate that only a few of the couple’s collective five children from past relationships were in attendance in Las Vegas, so likely, everyone will get to be involved in the next one.
Meanwhile, JLo has opted to take her new husband’s last name, just as she promised all those years ago during their first whirlwind engagement. I wonder though if we’ll start seeing a change in the billing and credits for the actress’ upcoming movies as a result of the change? Whatever the case may be, the recent flurry of matrimonial activity sure puts new meaning to the title of her next film – the romcom Shotgun Wedding co-starring Josh Duhamel (soon to be streaming for Amazon Prime subscribers).
2022 is just the year of celeb weddings, it seems. But if you’re wondering if Gwyneth Paltrow will likewise follow in the footsteps of Ben and Jen – given her recent statements about how she and her other ex-boyfriend Brad Pitt still love each other – think again. Paltrow is herself remarried to writer-director Brad Falchuk and, based on another post on her Instagram stories, they seem just as happy as Bennifer.