Jennifer Lopez has divided opinion after sharing a shirtless selfie of Ben Affleck in honour of Father’s Day.
The 53-year-old actor and singer took to Instagram on Sunday (18 June) to pay tribute to her husband on Father’s Day. “Daddy Appreciation Post,” she captioned the Instagram post. “Happy Father’s Day Papa and Happy Father’s Day to all the amazing Papas out there!! We love you and appreciate you more than you will ever know.”
In the post, Lopez shared a mirror selfie of Affleck showing off his toned figure and noticeable six-pack abs. The tribute also included two selfies of the couple, as well as a video of Lopez praising Affleck’s parenting skills in an interview.
“He’s an amazing dad. It brings tears to my eyes. He is, honestly, the best dad I have ever seen,” she said in the clip, which was taken from her appearance on The View last May. “He’s so involved. You know, he teaches me about how to kind of interact with the kids sometimes.
“He’s just so in tune. He’s such a brilliant guy, anyway. He’s so learned in so many things and you could just tell when he had his kids he must have read every book and everything that you could possibly learn about children and he applies it and he’s present. That’s all you can ask, for a present, loving dad who cares and shows up every single day and that’s who he is.”
Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck officially tied the knot in summer 2022, nearly 20 years after they ended their first engagement. The pair were initially engaged in 2002, before calling it off in 2004. They reunited in May 2021, over 17 years after they broke up.
After calling off their first engagement, Lopez went on to marry singer Marc Anthony in 2004. The former couple, who divorced in 2014, share 15-year-old twins Max and Emme. Ben Affleck was married to actor Jennifer Garner from 2005 to 2018. Together, they co-parent their three children: daughters Violet, 17, and Seraphina Rose, 13, and son Samuel, 10.
While the “On The Floor” singer paid tribute to her husband on Father’s Day, many fans were confused why Lopez included a shirtless selfie of Affleck in her appreciation post – rather than a photo of the Batman star with his children.
“I don’t know why…But this post is somewhat cringe,” one person commented.
“Jlo it’s Father’s Day not Valentines,” another wrote.
“Where are pics of him with the kids? I love her but this post is strange to me,” said someone else, while another user commented: “What about a post for your kids’ actual dad rather than your husband!”
However, others applauded Lopez for showing off her husband’s toned figure and encouraged critics to mind their own business.
“This comment section did NOT pass the vibe check! Let’s not be miserable on the internet for a change? Happy for you JLo. Grateful for good fathers,” one user wrote.
“Ben Affleck thirst trap photo,” another said. “Happy Father’s Day to all of us!!!”
“Everyone needs to shut up on this thread,” a third person commented. “She’s posting about her husband and how he’s a great father. She doesn’t need to show the kids. Y’all posting your kids WAY too much.”
Meanwhile, Ben Affleck’s ex-wife Jennifer Garner paid subtle tribute to the Gone Girl actor in her own Instagram post. The 13 Going on 30 star shared a sweet photo of herself with her father, William John Garner, and mother, Patricia Ann Garner, posing together at church.
“Happy Father’s Day to the best to ever do the job,” Garner wrote, before noting that her denim jean fashion choice for church was a result of losing her luggage at the airport. “We love you, Dad.”
She added: “PS Shout out to BGA – no one loves their kids like you love ours, happy Father’s Day, Ben!”
Jennifer Lopez has previously given fans insight into her blended family with husband Ben Affleck. While speaking to Today host Hoda Kotb last month, the Hustlers actor praised how Affleck treats her two children like his own. “Well, he’s a wonderful, wonderful father,” she said. “And a father figure to [Max and Emme] as well, because he has his own three beautiful children, and then there’s us.”
“He’s fantastic. He really steps up to the challenge of what that is and what that means,” she continued. “And they love him. They love him. And they appreciate him, and so do I.”
Lopez has also made rare comments about Affleck’s co-parenting skills with his former partner, revealing that Garner and Affleck “work really well together” when it comes to taking care of their three children.
“What I hope to cultivate with our family is that his kids have a new ally in me and my kids have a new ally in him,” she told Vogue in November 2022. “Someone who really loves and cares about them but can have a different perspective and help me see things that I can’t see with my kids because I’m so emotionally tied up.”
Earlier this month, Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck reportedly purchased a Los Angeles mansion together, with 12 bedrooms and 24 bathrooms, for $61 million.
