Jennifer Lopez was seen spending time with Ben Affleck’s son Samuel on a shopping trip in Beverly Hills on Saturday, a public sign that the singer and actress has maintained a relationship with her former stepson since her split from Affleck.
Lopez, 56, and Samuel, 13, stopped at Balenciaga in an indoor shopping area before leaving with a Balenciaga shopping bag, photographs show. Lopez wore a long-sleeved white cropped top, low-waisted black trousers and nude heels, and carried a Dior tote.
Lopez and Affleck, who married in 2022, finalized their divorce in January after Lopez filed in August 2024. During their marriage Lopez became a stepmother to Affleck’s three children with ex-wife Jennifer Garner: Violet, 19; Samuel, 13; and Fin, 16. Lopez is also the mother of 17-year-old twins Emme and Max.
Affleck has spoken positively about Lopez’s role with his children since the split. In an April interview with Entertainment Tonight, he called Lopez “spectacular, great to my kids, great ongoing relationship with them,” and said, “I love her kids. They are wonderful. She is enormously important, [a] tremendous person of a lot of integrity who I adore and am grateful to.”
Lopez has previously discussed the emotional adjustments of forming a blended family. Speaking to Today in 2023, she said that moving in together had been “a really kind of emotional transition” but described the experience as fulfilling. In a 2022 interview with Vogue, she said creating a blended household “is a process that needs to be handled with so much care,” and that she sought to be an ally to Affleck’s children while he would be an ally to hers.
Photographs from the outing show Lopez and Samuel strolling through the shopping area and later leaving in a waiting vehicle. The images are the latest public glimpse of Lopez’s post-divorce interactions with Affleck’s children. Earlier this week, Affleck was photographed with Garner and two of their children during a rare family outing in Los Angeles; Affleck’s mother was also present.
Garner and Affleck, who separated in 2015 and finalized their divorce in 2018, have continued to co-parent their three children. Garner has been linked to businessman John Miller, and reports in April said Miller is “basically living” with the actress. Garner was photographed recently wearing a glittering band on her ring finger, prompting media attention but no public statement from her.
Lopez and Affleck’s divorce closed a brief, highly publicized chapter in both stars’ personal lives. The couple reunited and wed in 2022 after a long relationship that attracted intense media coverage. Since the split, both have been photographed with their families and have spoken publicly about co-parenting and the importance of stable relationships between adults and children involved.
The shopping trip adds to a pattern of post-divorce interactions that suggest Lopez remains involved in the lives of Affleck’s children. Neither Lopez nor Affleck has issued a recent statement specifically about the weekend outing.