Jennifer Lopez hits back after being criticised for taking Ben Affleck's surname
Topics: Celebrity, Jennifer Lopez, Ben Affleck
Ali Condon
Featured Image Credit: UPI / Alamy Stock Photo/REUTERS / Alamy Stock Photo
Topics: Celebrity, Jennifer Lopez, Ben Affleck
Jennifer Lopez has defended her decision to take her husband Ben Affleck's surname after marrying the actor this summer.
The triple-threat will always be known by fans as Jennifer Lopez, but legally she's Jennifer Affleck now, and she has no interest in what the critics have to say about that.
Jennifer, 53, explained that she decided to take her husband's name because she wanted to stick with tradition.
In a new interview with Vogue, the Hustlers actress said: "We’re husband and wife. I’m proud of that. I don’t think that’s a problem."
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Jen added: "People are still going to call me Jennifer Lopez. But my legal name will be Mrs. Affleck because we’re joined together."
When asked if she had ever considered having Affleck take her last name, she replied: "No! It’s not traditional.
"It doesn’t have any romance to it. It feels like it’s a power move, you know what I mean?
“I’m very much in control of my own life and destiny and feel empowered as a woman and as a person."
Addressing the criticism she has faced since taking Affleck's name, she continued: "I can understand that people have their feelings about it, and that’s okay, too.
"But if you want to know how I feel about it, I just feel like it’s romantic. It still carries tradition and romance to me, and maybe I’m just that kind of girl."
The couple got married on Saturday, 20 August in the Batman actor's Georgia home, one month after they exchanged vows and lodged a marriage license in Las Vegas.
They rekindled their relationship in 2021 after their initial romance in 2002.
The ceremony was officiated by celebrity life coach Jay Shetty and attended by some of the biggest names in the business, and all of Ben and Jen's children.
Jennifer shares twins Emme and Maximilian, 14, with her ex-husband Marc Anthony, while Affleck is father to Violet, 16, Seraphina, 13, and Samuel, 10, who he shares with his ex-wife Jennifer Garner.
In her 'On The J Lo' newsletter, Jennifer opened up about what this wedding meant for her children.
"We weren’t only marrying one another; we were marrying these children into a new family", she wrote.
"They were the only people we asked to stand up for us in our wedding party. To our great honour and joy, each one did."