July 16, 2022, will forever go down as the day J. Lo officially became J. Aff. After surprising fans with news of her Las Vegas wedding to Ben Affleck, Jennifer Lopez indicated in a message emailed to fans that she’s changed her name to match her new husband’s.
In a note sent out to subscribers of her “On the JLo” newsletter, the Marry Me actress divulged all the details of her Little White Wedding Chapel ceremony — from how she and Affleck almost didn’t make it there before midnight, to their photoshoot in a pink Cadillac convertible supposedly used by Elvis. “Stick around long enough and maybe you’ll find the best moment of your life in a drive through in Las Vegas at twelve thirty in the morning in the tunnel of love drive through, with your kids and the one you’ll spend forever with,” she wrote.
But what really stood out was Lopez’s — or should we say Mrs. Affleck’s — signature. “Love is a great thing, maybe the best of things — and worth waiting for,” she concluded. “With love, Mrs. Jennifer Lynn Affleck.”
The new name checks out with legal records viewed by Billboard, which show that the newlyweds’ marriage license was issued to both “Party 2 Name: Lopez, Jennifer” and “Party 2 New Name: Affleck, Jennifer.”
It also lines up with something the “Let’s Get Loud” singer said some 20 years ago. For context, the Afflecks first started dating all the way back in 2002 and got engaged later that year. But after delaying their 2003 wedding, they went their separate ways in 2004. Lopez and Affleck went on to marry other people (Marc Anthony and Jennifer Garner, respectively) and have welcomed children with their now former spouses before reuniting last year and getting engaged in April 2022.
During that first engagement, however, Lopez revealed that even in 2003, she had planned on taking the Last Duel star’s surname. “I think I’m going to stay with Jennifer Lopez, but my name will be Jennifer Affleck, obviously,” she told Pat O’Brien during a scene in Ben & Jen: A Dateline Special.
When O’Brien asked what her stationary would say, she replied, “Jennifer Affleck,” before laughing about how silly “J-Aff” or “Jaff” would sound. See the Dateline clip below:
She told you 20 years ago pic.twitter.com/PIMh2Zk8wl
— ⭐️ with a Y ⭐️ ☮️ (@wyntermitchell) July 17, 2022
