JLo and Ben Affleck’s Grammys Seat-Filler Speaks Out: ‘The Whole Time They Were Cute and Shit’

There’s no greater example of the old adage “opposites attract” in Hollywood than Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck. Despite the fact these two are both Leos (yikes!), it appears only the former is quite comfortable on red carpets and in the spotlight, while her counterpart would prefer hanging at home with the comforts of his in-office soda stream befit with both Diet Coke and Diet Pepsi.

Honestly, I don’t blame him at this point. Observing these two in the wild has become something of a spectator sport, fueling speculation that Bennifer 2.0 are not only stingy tippers but constantly teetering on the brink of divorce—most recently at the 65th Annual Grammy Awards, where Ben’s apparent misery became yet another meme.

Fortunately, a brave source (known as @almostanna on TikTok) who sat at the couple’s table at the awards show as a seat-filler has emerged to clear some things up. Per her account, there was no fight. Instead, Ben and Jen were having a laugh over the fact that the latter had once again been meme’d—even long before Harry Styles somehow managed to escape with the award of the night.

“I was just so lucky to be next to them!” she recalled. “The whole time they were cute and shit… JLo showed Ben Affleck the phone and was like, ‘Oh my God, honey, look at this meme circulating about you!’ And he was like, ‘Oh God, this again.’ Like he knew during the performance that he was a meme!”

Apparently, Affleck was none too concerned.

“Like he knew, and he also chose just not to change his expression!” the TikToker continued. “Like I love how unbothered that is! So I know that she was like on her phone and saw it and was like, ‘Honey, this is so funny, look at this.’ And he was like, ‘Jesus Christ.’”

She went on to describe the pair as, “super lovey dovey,” and their hands were never not intertwined. “So it wasn’t like, ‘Oh my God, this is going to lead to divorce! Like, they were cute!’”

It’s a far cry from say, this Daily Mail piece wherein a “lip-reader” determined that Lopez told her husband to “stop” and to “look more friendly, look motivated,” during the ceremony. While this interaction is likely imagined, could you blame the guy? If I were dragged to an unserious awards show, I too, wouldn’t look “motivated” to be anywhere but my home.

In closing: No more lip readers. And Jen, maybe just let this man sit a few of these tired circus events out.

• In the great schism between ABC and GMA anchors-turned-lovers, Amy Robach and T.J. Holmes, Robach reportedly got the “bigger settlement.” [Page Six]
• Bill Gates is apparently dating Paula Hurd, the wife of now-deceased millionaire Mark Hurd. Research shows that the former CEO of Oracle was at the epicenter of a sexual harassment scandal that far pre-dated #MeToo. This girl loves an industry pioneer! [People]
• Tommy Lee posted his dick on Twitter…again. This time, it was intentional, at least. [Perez Hilton]
• Meanwhile, Pamela Anderson styles her hair with a G-string, noshes on loose kumquats, and reads William Mastrosimone’s Extremities in Vogue’s, “What’s In My Bag?” series. I don’t know a better woman. [British Vogue]
• Sorry, I literally just can’t stop thinking about the fact that Esther Perel was Armie Hammer and Elizabeth Chamber’s marriage counselor…[Insider]
• Or this incredible Harrison Ford interview. [The Hollywood Reporter]