Jennifer Garner Is Reportedly Ready to Cut Ties With Jennifer Lopez, Unless Their Kids Are Involved

"Her friends feel she shouldn't have allowed herself to get so involved."

Jennifer Garner has shoulder length brunette hair and wears an off-the-shoulder baby blue dress, Jennifer Lopez has long golden brunette hair and is wearing a low-cut V-neck black and silver dress
(Image credit: Stefanie Keenan/Getty Images for Daily Front Row/Phillip Faraone/Getty Images for The Recording Academy)

At one time, Jennifer Garner, Jennifer Lopez, and Ben Affleck appeared to be building a loving, blended family together. Unfortunately, those days seem to have ended, according to a new report.

After Lopez married Garner's ex-husband Affleck in July 2022, the Alias star reportedly became an unexpected "ally" to the "Marry Me" singer. However, a source has now claimed that Garner is distancing herself from the Atlas star, unless they need to communicate about their kids.

Speaking to DailyMail.com, a source alleged, "Jen [Garner] no longer wishes to have communication with J.Lo unless it is do with the kids."

The source continued, "Her friends feel she shouldn't have allowed herself to get so involved in helping J.Lo to fix her marriage to Ben."

Jennifer Lopez wearin ga tan coat and bra top and Ben Affleck wearing a suit smiling at each other on a red carpet

(Image credit: Getty Images)

The source also suggested that Garner and Lopez's shared history with Affleck may be contributing to the decision. "Especially considering [Garner] felt pitted against J.Lo at times during their own marriage," the source alleged. "[Garner] is too nice and truly wanted to help, so she tried."

Affleck and Garner's daughter, Violet, has stayed in contact with J.Lo and her sister, Lynda Lopez, since the split. Lynda even raised some eyebrows when she visited Violet at Yale University this fall.

"J.Lo getting close to Violet felt odd to [Garner] and then Lynda popping up at Violet’s school," the source told DailyMail.com. "[Garner]'s loyalty is to the father of her kids—Ben—and their children. Because they love J.Lo."

Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner

(Image credit: Getty Images)

In spite of her own feelings on the matter, Garner will reportedly remained tight-lipped around her kids. "[Garner] would never badmouth [Lopez] or speak negatively about her," the source alleged.

Ultimately, Garner apparently has veto regarding whether her children can see Lopez or not. "Everyone knows that if J.Lo wanted to spend time with her children aside from Violet, it would have to go through [Garner]," the source claimed.

Earlier this year, it was reported that Garner played "mediator" between Lopez and Affleck, which can't have been easy. According to another source (via DailyMail.com), "Jen [Garner] feels slightly used as a pawn in J.Lo's bid to repair her marriage." The source continued, "She doesn't believe it was intentional."

Amy Mackelden
Contributing Editor

Amy Mackelden is a contributing editor at Marie Claire, where she covers celebrity and royal family news. She was the weekend editor at Harper’s BAZAAR for three years, where she covered breaking celebrity and entertainment news, royal stories, fashion, beauty, and politics. Prior to that, she spent a year as the joint weekend editor for Marie Claire, ELLE, and Harper's BAZAAR, and two years as an entertainment writer at Bustle. Her additional bylines include Cosmopolitan, People, The Independent, HelloGiggles, Biography, Shondaland, Best Products, New Statesman, Heat, and The Guardian. Her work has been syndicated by publications including Town & Country, Good Housekeeping, Esquire, Delish, Oprah Daily, Country Living, and Women's Health. Her celebrity interviews include Jennifer Aniston, Jessica Chastain, the cast of Selling Sunset, Emma Thompson, Jessica Alba, and Penn Badgley. In 2015, she delivered an academic paper at Kimposium, the world's first Kardashian conference.