Stassi Schroeder Says Ben Affleck Should Have "Just Smiled" on the Red Carpet With Jennifer Lopez: "Do Her a Solid"

The TV star feels bad for J. Lo amid the divorce.

Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez attend the Los Angeles premiere of Netflix's 'The Mother' on May 10, 2023.
(Image credit: Emma McIntyre/WireImage)

Stassi Schroeder is staunchly Team J. Lo in the star's divorce from Ben Affleck.

When the Vanderpump Rules alum appeared on the Not Skinny But Not Fat podcast with Amanda Hirsch on Oct. 1, the host asked Schroeder if she feels bad for the "hate" Jenifer Lopez is getting amid her separation from the Gone Girl actor.

"Oh, 100 percent," the TV star replied (as transcribed by Us Weekly). "Because I also think that Ben Affleck, he’s a major part of the problem. He could never just smile in a photo with her. He always had to make it look like she was making him [miserable]."

She then doubled down, "You’re going on a red carpet—smile! Or don’t go on it. Because now the narrative is, like, when you see a photo, he’s miserable. And she’s not. And so of course, people are just going to go to, 'J. Lo must be making him miserable,' when it’s like… you know what, Ben? Just smile. Do her a solid."

Throughout the celebs' two-year marriage, fans were often calling out Affleck for looking sad, bored or angry during public appearances alongside his wife.

It particularly came to a head when the couple attended the Grammys together in February 2023, and Affleck's totally miserable expression quickly became a meme online.

Lopez even joked about it later, calling it, "my husband's happy face."

Earlier this year, fellow actor Kevin Hart was brave enough to ask Affleck about his "resting bitch face," which the dad of three put down to his not liking being people's focus. "I also don’t like a lot of attention," he explained. "That’s why people see me and they’re like 'Why’s this dude always mad?' Because somebody has their camera and sticks it in my face and I’m like, 'Okay, here we go.'"

Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck seen during the 65th GRAMMY Awards at Crypto.com Arena on February 05, 2023 in Los Angeles, California.

Ben Affleck became a meme after he was pictured looking miserable at the 2023 Grammys.

(Image credit: Getty Images)

Lopez and Affleck were married between 2022 and August 2024, when the Atlas star filed for divorce. They have since been spotted out and about for lunch together, as well as meeting with "disso queen" lawyer Laura Wasser.

Iris Goldsztajn
Morning Editor

Iris Goldsztajn is a London-based journalist, editor and author. She is the morning editor at Marie Claire, and her work has appeared in the likes of British Vogue, InStyle, Cosmopolitan, Refinery29 and SELF. Iris writes about everything from celebrity news and relationship advice to the pitfalls of diet culture and the joys of exercise. She has many opinions on Harry Styles, and can typically be found eating her body weight in cheap chocolate.