The Idea That Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck’s Marital Issues Are About Her Superstar-Level Fame “Isn’t True”

Buzz that Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck’s two-year-old marriage is in trouble have abounded since May, with many reports speculating that it’s because of Lopez’s fame—and that Affleck, while famous himself, couldn’t handle the level of celebrity hoisted upon her.

But that’s not true, said a source speaking to People. “The idea that Ben thinks Jennifer is too famous and that he didn’t know what he was getting into with the attention on their marriage isn’t true,” they said. “There are deeper issues.”

Last week—July 16, specifically—marked their anniversary, and Lopez spent the day in the Hamptons, while Affleck was in Los Angeles. Rather than spend time with her groom, Page Six reports that Lopez had dinner with her son, Max, and an assistant at the new Arthur & Sons in Bridgehampton, where they dined on the terrace and ordered spaghetti with tomato and basil, calamari, and a plate of cannoli for dessert. They also took home some limoncello cheesecake, the outlet writes, and Lopez “was smiling and engaging,” a source said.

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This past weekend—as Lopez’s 55th birthday approaches on Wednesday—Lopez threw a birthday party in the Hamptons; Affleck wasn’t present. Earlier that same day, she posted a series of selfies on Instagram, and wrote “Today is gonna be a great day.”

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Page Six was quick to report that Lopez’s “wedding and engagement rings are absent from her hands—as is her ‘Ben’ necklace,” the outlet reports, adding that, poignantly, “Lopez was spotted departing an Equinox gym in the Hamptons on Friday sporting a new ‘Jennifer’ nameplate necklace” instead of the one that paid homage to her husband.

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Rachel Burchfield is a writer, editor, and podcaster whose primary interests are fashion and beauty, society and culture, and, most especially, the British Royal Family and other royal families around the world. She serves as Marie Claire’s Senior Celebrity and Royals Editor and has also contributed to publications like Allure, Cosmopolitan, Elle, Glamour, Harper’s Bazaar, InStyle, People, Vanity Fair, Vogue, and W, among others. Before taking on her current role with Marie Claire, Rachel served as its Weekend Editor and later Royals Editor. She is the cohost of Podcast Royal, a show that was named a top five royal podcast by The New York Times. A voracious reader and lover of books, Rachel also hosts I’d Rather Be Reading, which spotlights the best current nonfiction books hitting the market and interviews the authors of them. Rachel frequently appears as a media commentator, and she or her work has appeared on outlets like NBC’s Today Show, ABC’s Good Morning America, CNN, and more.