When Jennifer Lopez filed for divorce from ex-husband Ben Affleck in August 2024, she was making a point. By filing on what would have been their second anniversary, Lopez proved she wasn’t afraid to come after Affleck, but she was also ready to close the chapter.
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Most recently, Lopez’s latest real estate move has also indicated how she’s doing. According to Daily Mail, she recently purchased a sprawling mansion in Hidden Hills, California, worth $21 million.
“Jennifer wanted to get out of the hustle and bustle of the city and have a more relaxed home life in Hidden Hills,” a source told the outlet.
Notably, Lopez buying a mansion not only indicates that she’s leaving the one she bought with Affleck behind, but that she’s eager to get some distance between them. After all, per the outlet, there’s an approximate one-hour drive between Lopez’s new house and Affleck’s home.
The insider, however, reassured that Lopez wasn’t exactly thinking about that when they signed. “It has nothing to do with getting away from Ben and his family and Jennifer [Garner] and their kids,” the source said. “She is OK with them. It is about being in a more relaxed environment.”
Most importantly, Lopez wanted to prioritize her 17-year-old twins, Emme and Max. “She bought a home in a gated community where there is security personnel and cameras everywhere, it’s extremely safe,” the source said. “This way she doesn’t have to worry if Max rides his bicycle down a street or if Emme goes for a walk with a friend.”
Previously, Lopez bought a $61 million mansion in Beverly Hills with Affleck in May 2023. The property was listed for sale in July 2024 and re-listed in December after a seller fell through. Regardless of how that deal turns out, it’s safe to say Lopez is ready to be on her own.
Prior to Lopez’s real estate movie, Affleck addressed their relationship in a rare interview with GQ. In it, the Oscar winner talked about showing a glimpse of their relationship in her documentary, The Greatest Love Story Never Told.
“Like I mentioned to you before, there are a lot of people who I think have handled celebrity more adeptly and more adroitly than I have, Jennifer among them,” he said. “My temperament is to be a little bit more reserved and private than hers.”
“As happens in relationships, you don’t always have the same attitude towards these things,” he continued. “And so I thought, Oh, this is interesting because how do you reconcile that? Because exactly what you said is true. I love and support this person. I believe in them. They’re great. I want people to see that. And I think the thing that I said in that documentary or the piece that they used was where I said, ‘You don’t marry a ship captain and then say, “Well, I don’t like going out in the water.”‘ You’ve got to own what you knew going into any relationship.”
“I think it’s important to say that wasn’t the cause of some major fracture,” he added to clarify at the end. “It’s not like you can watch that documentary and go, ‘Oh, now I understand the issues that these two had.’”
Before you go, click here to see a complete timeline of Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez’s relationship.
