He estranged wife Jennifer Lopez broke her silence to describe the ‘sad’ and ‘scary’ end of their marriage earlier this week.
And Ben Affleck looked tense in the wake of his ex’s comments when he was spotted out in Los Angeles on Thursday.
The 52-year-old Air filmmaker was pictured puffing on a cigarette as he spoke on his cellphone on the sidewalk.
He was seen strolling with his youngest child, 12-year-old son Samuel.
The outing comes after an insider told DailyMail.com that Ben feels as if talk of his split from Jennifer will trail him indefinitely.
Ben Affleck looked tense as he smoked a cigarette and talked on the phone during an outing in Los Angeles on Thursday
He looked casual in a white graphic T-shirt with slim olive-colored pants and a cool set of green-and-brown Nike sneakers
For his day out, Ben dressed for casual comfort with a white graphic T-shirt featuring a photo of a destroyed hotel room that read, ‘A.E. Unscripted.’
The low-key look highlighted his muscular arms, and he paired the shirt with a set of slim olive-colored pants.
He rocked a cool set of green-and-brown Nike sneakers, and he sported a thick, extra-dark beard after dying it last week.
Samuel hung close to his father and wore a black T-shirt with relaxed-fit acid wash jeans and olive-and-white Nikes.
Even when he was walking with his son, Ben still looked stone-faced as he spoke on the phone.
Their father–son bonding time happened the same day that DailyMail.com reported that Ben feels as if he can’t escape talk of his failed marriage to Jennifer.
‘Ben knows that she will talk about the breakup forever,’ an insiders said.
‘He would love for her not to talk about it, but he feels she will always speak out.
‘He didn’t get a heads-up that she was going to talk about their relationship, but he assumed that it would eventually happen,’ they continued. ‘It is a part of his life just as much as anything else, he’s never going to get away from it.’
The insider said Affleck is ‘OK with however Jen has to deal with it,’ and is aware that his ex has ‘always been one to talk’ about her personal life.
‘People deal with loss and breakup in their own way, and this is what Jen had to do and Ben has to accept it,’ they continued. ‘He would like to keep some stuff to himself, especially major details about their relationship.’
The On the Floor singer filed for divorce from Affleck on August 20, following months of reports that their second shot at love had failed 20 years after their first break up.
Lopez detailed her ‘f***ing hard’ break-up in an in-depth chat with Nikki Glasser this week, in which she talked about her life ‘blowing up’ in her face.
He was joined by his son Samuel, 12, as he took a call while displaying a tense expression
An insider told DailyMail.com on Thursday that Affleck feels as if he can’t escape talk of his failed message, including from Jennifer; pictured January 7 in Beverly Hills
‘It feels lonely, unfamiliar, scary,’ she told the comedian for Interview magazine. ‘It feels sad. It feels desperate.
‘But when you sit in those feelings and go, “These things are not going to kill me,” it’s like actually, I am capable of joy and happiness all by myself. Being in a relationship doesn’t define me.’
Asked if she had any regrets, she replied: ‘Not one second. That doesn’t mean it didn’t almost take me out for good. It almost did.’
Lopez, who did not name Affleck, added that she is ‘not looking for anybody’ right now and suggested that her ex did not embrace all of her flaws.
‘Somebody who truly loves you will help you heal those parts of yourself,’ she said. ‘That’s what I’ve learned about love, that it is a secure thing. You make me feel safe, and when I fall short of the glory, you understand me and you help me to grow to be better, because you have your boundaries and I have my boundaries.’
The singer posed topless in leopard print bikini bottoms and matching gloves to mark the publication’s 55th anniversary special.
Affleck failed to raise a smile days after the interview when he was pictured in Los Angeles scouting out a location for his next project.
Lopez and Affleck were famously engaged in the early 2000s before breaking up, only to reunite – and later marry – in July 2022 before holding another ceremony one month later.
Their initial two-year romance was highly publicized and the intense scrutiny on their relationship was difficult for the couple to handle.
Speaking in her music documentary, The Greatest Love Story Never Told, which was financed and produced by Affleck’s Artist Equity, she said: ‘Ben and I broke up three days before our wedding and we crumbled under the pressure. You think you’re doing ok so you shrug it off.’
While navigating their reconciliation, two-time Oscar winner Affleck admitted he had zero interest in becoming a fixture on his wife’s social media accounts.
Fears for the now-estranged couple first surfaced back in May when it was revealed they had gone 47 days without being pictured together.
Lopez attended the Met Gala and her film premiere for Atlas alone.
‘He would love for her not to talk about it, but he feels she will always speak out,’ a source told DailyMail.com; pictured together in November 2023 in Las Vegas
Speculation later reached fever pitch when Affleck moved out of their $60 million California mansion and into a $100K-a-month rental located near his ex-wife Jennifer Garner.
Just weeks later, the home was quietly listed for $65 million and the pair began selling off art work from inside the mansion.
They reunited for the first time since announcing their split, joining their children at the Beverly Hills Hotel last month.
Affleck shares Violet, 18, Finn, 15, and Samuel, 12, with Garner while Lopez has 16-year-old twins, Emme and Max, with ex-husband Marc Anthony.
