Jennifer Lopez rushed to marry Ben Affleck before he got ‘cold feet’, says source

Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck tied the knot during a midnight Vegas wedding in a whirlwind of romance – but a source now claims there’s more to the story.

Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez have been secretly married. Picture: Kevin Winter/Getty Images

Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck are still on cloud nine after their surprise wedding in Las Vegas.

The lovebirds celebrated, New York Post is told, with pizza and Diet Coke on a private jet back to LA in the early hours of Sunday morning.

And while the bride later posted on her OnTheJLo newsletter that they were joined by their kids at the shock nuptials at a drive-through wedding chapel, a source has said that the only ones in attendance were Lopez’s daughter, Emme, 14, and Affleck’s daughter Sera, 13.

The pair have five kids in total between them. Emme has a twin brother, Max, and Affleck also has Violet, 16, and Sam, 10, with ex-wife Jennifer Garner.

While they were tying the knot, Garner was soaking up the sun in Lake Tahoe over the weekend – and gave no clue as to how she was feeling about it all.

“Ben did tell Jen about the wedding, but I’m told that it was only Friday at the earliest. It was very, very minimally planned in advance and was largely spur of the moment. Violet stayed home because she’s extremely loyal to her mum,” one well-placed Hollywood source told The Post.

Stream more entertainment news live & on demand with Flash. 25+ news channels in 1 place. New to Flash? Try 1 month free. Offer ends 31 October, 2022 >

Lopez shared wedding photos with her fans. Picture: Supplied

She described it as the ‘best possible wedding’. Picture: Supplied

As for why now, the Hollywood source added: “[Lopez] has been ready to get married since the night that Ben proposed. She wanted to lock this down and remove any chance for cold feet ASAP!”

Garner, 50, and Affleck, 49, were married from 2005 to 2018. She has maintained her silence as her ex has enjoyed publicised romances with Saturday Night Live producer Lindsay Shookus and Cuban actress Ana de Armas, who recently revealed that she quit LA over the attention surrounding their relationship. She told Elle magazine: “It became a little bit too much. There’s no escape. There’s no way out.”

She’s now living in New York with her Tinder exec boyfriend Paul Boukadakis.

Affleck and Garner were married for 13 years. Picture: Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images

But Garner has also stood by the Oscar winner through his battles with addiction. Friends were left furious on her behalf back in December after Affleck told shock jock Howard Stern he would probably still be drinking if he was married to Garner.

At the time, one industry insider who knows both Affleck and Garner well told The Post: “It’s disgusting … Jen has been the only one picking him up time and time again when he’s done horrible things – fallen off the wagon or worse.”

Another industry source told The Post on Monday: “Ben’s comments were ridiculous and you could see that fans of Jen were so upset too. But, of course, she has never wanted him to be anything other than happy and sober and I’m sure she wishes him well [on his new marriage].”

A rep for Garner could not be reached for comment.

Garner is currently filming the Apple+ thriller The Last Thing He Told Me, based on the best-selling book by Laura Dave, which follows a wife whose husband disappears.

One thing is clear: J.Lo hopes this is her happy ending. As those who know her well previously told Page Six, Affleck is the love of her life.

This article originally appeared in the New York Post and was republished with permission