Jennifer Lopez And Ben Affleck's Latest Red Carpet Love Fest Was 'Scripted,' Expert Claims

While Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck don't come off as the type of couple who would try to fake their body language to control the narrative about the state of their relationship, we've seen them orchestrate their movements before. Back during the OG "Bennifer" era, when Affleck playfully patted Lopez's backside, it was for the sake of the cameras filming his now-wife's iconic 2002 music video, "Jenny From the Block." And it's hard not to think they knew exactly what they were doing when they recreated said scene IRL on a yacht in 2021 (even though Affleck's admiring was only captured on camera by the paparazzi that time around). TMZ and other outlets were quick to make comparisons between the two iconic moments.

But less than a year after Lopez and Affleck tied the knot, the couple didn't look so affectionate in a viral video that showed Affleck slamming the door behind Lopez after she sat down in the passenger side of his ride. Everyone on social media suddenly became a body language expert, with many Twitter users opining that the frowning "Gone Girl" star looked "miserable." By then, Affleck's grumpy Grammys expression was already forcing him to defend his behavior around Lopez. "I had a good time at the Grammys," he insisted to The Hollywood Reporter in a March 2023 interview. But even when he engages in PDA with his wife, it looks like he simply can't beat those trouble-in-paradise allegations.

When they attended the June 12 Hollywood premiere of "The Flash," Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez kissed and cuddled on the red carpet. Affleck even pulled back his lips to show off those pearly whites, but body language expert Judi James told the Mirror that his grin didn't appear to be genuine. "His smile looks forced, with a hint of what looks like gritted teeth," she observed.

Adding to the awkwardness of Affleck's behavior was his refusal to remove the hand he had shoved in his pants pocket and his failure to turn his body toward Lopez when they kissed, making it seem as though he wasn't as into the lip-lock as she was. James even suggested the conversation the pair was having was about orchestrating their PDA. (We need a lip reader, stat!) "The way Ben seems to keep an amount of chatter going on shows they are seeking agreement to embrace," James said. But with all that apparent planning, the pair still had one off-kilter kiss.

Although James' verdict was that the couple's PDA was "scripted," it doesn't necessarily mean that they're miserable; you could even argue that Affleck is putting in more of an effort to look happy in photos for the sake of his ladylove. Apparently, this doesn't come naturally to him. "I have a very unhappy-looking resting face," he explained on "Jimmy Kimmel Live." So, don't be fooled by the scowl he's got.