Ben Affleck spotted with Kick Kennedy after Jennifer Lopez split

Fresh from his split with Jennifer Lopez, Ben Affleck has been seen with a stunning member of America’s “royal family”.

Fresh from his split with Jennifer Lopez, Ben Affleck has been spotted spending time with a stunning member of the Kennedy clan.

Oscar winner Affleck has been seen enjoying nights out with Kick Kennedy, the 36-year-old actress daughter of Robert F. Kennedy Jr, at several LA hotspots including the Polo Lounge at the Beverly Hills Hotel, Page Six reports.

Ben Affleck and Jennifer Aniston’s two-year marriage has imploded. Picture: AFP

Kick and Affleck were seen together prior to Lopez filing for divorce after two years of marriage, but the nature of their relationship is not known, Page Six reports.

Kick, whose full name is Kathleen Alexandra, was named after her great-aunt, the socialite Kathleen Agnes Cavendish.

Nicknamed “Kick” by the Kennedy clan for her irrespresssible nature, the older sister of John F. Kennedy tragically died in 1948 aged just 28 in a plane crash.

Kick Kennedy with her father Robert F. Kennedy, who has ended his presidential campaign and is backing Donald Trump. Picture: Kick Kennedy/Instagram

It came after Affleck’s powerful vow to Lopez before their wedding re-emerged in light of their split.

In the months after their marriage, a lovestruck Lopez revealed that Affleck had a permanent message engraved on her engagement ring before he proposed for the second time in April 2022.

“This one he put ‘not going anywhere’ because that’s how he would sign his emails when we started talking again,” Lopez told Apple Music One’s Zane Lowe following their wedding in 2022.

“Like, ‘Don’t worry, I’m not going anywhere.’”

Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez are over - again. Picture: AFP

Ironically, it was the 55-year-old Lopez who officially ended the brief union, filing for divorce from the Oscar winner on the anniversary of their wedding. A source told the New York Post exclusively that Lopez specifically chose that significant date to show the world she’s “a woman standing up in her own way.”

Although the writing had been on the wall for months, with sources telling the Post back in May that Bennifer 2.0’s marriage seemed doomed, Lopez listed their official date of separation as April 26, 2024.

Jennifer Lopez is said to feel “humiliated” by the split. Picture: AFP

The estranged couple spent the entire summer living on opposite coasts after putting their $90 million marital estate on the market, indicating to fans that their second attempt at happily ever after failed.

A source told the New York Post earlier this month that Lopez felt “humiliated” and “frustrated” that the couple’s reconciliation didn’t work out, especially since “she made a big deal that he’s the love of her life.”

At the time, we were told that Affleck was holding off on filing for divorce to avoid embarrassing Lopez, and a source told People that he showed “no interest” in trying to work out their issues.

The couple attended a game between the Golden State Warriors and the Los Angeles Lakers on March 16 in one of their final joint appearances. Picture: AFP

She’s very disappointed and sad, but Ben hasn’t given her any signs that he wants to continue their marriage,” the insider shared.

“He hasn’t shown any commitment and interest in making their marriage work. It’s gotten to the point that she just needs to look out for herself.”

MARITAL PROBLEMS ‘STARTED ON HONEYMOON’

Meanwhile, it’s been claimed the marital woes of Lopez and Affleck began on their honeymoon in Italy’s Lake Como.

Sources told the New York Post the pair’s short-lived marriage was doomed from the very start, with Affleck struggling to cope with Lopez’s massive level of fame.

 “He was unhappy with paparazzi following them. She is an international superstar, and he acted like it came as a surprise that they would be followed around,” the source said.

Behind the scenes, the couple barely spoke during their honeymoon due to Affleck’s issues, the source claimed.

Ben Affleck found it hard to cope with Jennifer Lopez’s huge level of fame, sources claim. Picture: thecelebrityfinder/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images

“They would barely speak to each other during what was supposed to be the happiest time of their life,” the source said.

“He sold her on him being a changed man, and that lasted a very short time.”

The source told Page Six how Affleck rekindled his romance with Lopez during a “vulnerable” time as he continued his long-running battle against alcoholism.

“He was just getting sober … He was in a vulnerable state, and whatever their chemistry played into that … He was in this frenzied, excitable state,” the insider said.

The pair rekindled their romance when Ben Affleck was on a high, friends claim. Picture: Getty Images

Meanwhile, Lopez’s former fiance, retired baseball star Alex Rodriguez raised eyebrows with a cryptic post following news of the star’s marriage break-up.

Rodriguez shared a post citing one of his own quotes, which read, “You either go one way or the other, you might as well be the one deciding the direction.”

The former New York Yankee and Lopez, who began their relationship  in 2017, abruptly ended their engagement in March 2021.

 Lopez got back together with Affleck shortly after her split with Rodriguez.

The star’s former fiance, Alex Rodriguez, shared a cryptic post. Picture: AFP

Lopez filed for divorce from Affleck on August 20, the couple’s second wedding anniversary.

A source told Page Six that Lopez specifically filed for divorce from Affleck exactly two years after their lavish ceremony in Georgia to show the world she is “a woman standing up in her own way.”

According to the source a “devastated” Lopez approached the decision carefully coming to the difficult conclusion that “it’s time to move on”.

It is the fourth divorce for the 55-year-old star after her previous marriages to Ojani Noa, Cris Judd and Marc Anthony.

Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez have called it quits again. Picture: AFP

“She’s very disappointed and sad, but Ben hasn’t given her any signs that he wants to continue their marriage. He hasn’t shown any commitment and interest in making their marriage work. It’s gotten to the point that she just needs to look out for herself,” a source told People magazine.

The source said Lopez gave the marriage her all and wanted to make things work after the couple rekindled their romance but Affleck “threw in the towel a long time ago”.

Affleck was photographed without his wedding ring on the same day Lopez filed the paperwork in Los Angeles. The 52-year-old actor had been spotted with and without the ring as the couple faced speculation of a split.

Ben Affleck’s unimpressed expression at the Grammys in February became a meme – but perhaps it was in fact a premonition. Picture: Getty Images

“Ben has been his usual, high-energetic self. He’s been busy with his kids and work and seems to be doing just fine,” a source told Fox News.

Rumours surrounding the couple’s marriage have plagued the Hollywood heavyweights for months. Sources told People magazine in June that Lopez was living in the couple’s $88 million Beverly Hills estate while Affleck stayed in a nearby home as they attempted to sell the pricey mansion.

“He started moving out a while ago,” a source told Fox News at the time. “The marriage is completely over, and Jennifer is heartbroken. She loves love and wanted this to work so badly.”

This is the second time the two have ended their relationship. When they rekindled their romance in 2021, Lopez told People magazine the following year that the two “had a little bit of fear” about dating in the public eye again. “I feel so lucky and happy and proud to be with him. It’s a beautiful love story that we got a second chance.”

SHOCK DETAIL IN LOPEZ, AFFLECK DIVORCE PAPERS

Lopez filed for divorce on the same date as the couple’s lavish 2022 wedding ceremony in Georgia following their Las Vegas nuptials.

Music superstar Lopez did not say in her filing whether she and Affleck have a prenuptial agreement in place and sources claim the pair do not have one, TMZ reports.

She has waived spousal support and asked the judge to deny Affleck such support as well.

Rumours have been swirling after the formerly inseparable couple were not photographed together for months.

With the couple staying in separate homes, appearing in public without their wedding rings and placing their Beverly Hills mega mansion on the market, the writing has been on the wall.

Oscar winner Affleck, TMZ reports, is no longer on speaking terms with Lopez and moved out of the mansion weeks ago to a house in LA’s Brentwood.

Break-up rumours began in May amid reports Lopez, 55, and Affleck, 52, had started going to couple’s therapy.

Although neither addressed the speculation, actor Affleck was spotted without his wedding ring a week later.

Over the coming weeks, eagle-eyed fans realised the pair had not been photographed together for a month and a half.

Affleck’s failure to attend the Met Gala which Lopez co-chaired and the songstress cancelling all of the US concerts in her This Is Me … Live tour were among the biggest clues that the end was imminent.

The sad news closes the door on a love story spanning more than two decades.

Bennifer first came to be after the A-listers fell in love on the set of box office atrocity Gigli in 2002.

Back where it all began on the set of Gigli.

Affleck even made a cameo in the Jenny from the Block music video.

From Affleck’s cameo in the Jenny from the Block music video to Lopez’s iconic pink diamond engagement ring, the world was in awe of the romance.

But in January 2004 just days before their wedding day, it all fell apart.

Courtesy of Lopez’s new self-funded documentary The Greatest Love Story Never Told, which cost her a whopping A$30 million, we now know how that first break up went down.

The couple were still loved up at the premiere of The Mother in May 2023. Picture: AFP

“We had a big wedding planned – 14 ushers and bridesmaids and three days before we just crumbled under the pressure,” Lopez said in the documentary, blaming media attention for the split.

The pair reunited in 2021, tying the knot in Vegas on July 16, 2022 and blending their families.

Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck were blissfully happy on their wedding day. Picture: Instagram/Jlo

Affleck shares daughter Violet, 18, son Samuel, 12, and Fin, 15, with ex Jennifer Garner.

Meanwhile Lopez has 16-year-old twins Max and Emme with her former husband Marc Anthony.

The marriage breakdown will hit Emme and Fin particularly hard as the stepsiblings have bonded over their shared use of they/them pronouns.

The crumbling union marks the end of Lopez’s fourth marriage and Affleck’s second.

Lopez has also dated controversial rapper P Diddy and baseball superstar Alex Rodriguez while Affleck had a high profile romance with Gwenyth Paltrow.

Originally published as Ben Affleck spotted with Kick Kennedy after Jennifer Lopez split