Jennifer Lopez says taking her husband Ben Affleck’s surname is a ‘power move’

Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck wed in Las Vegas in July. Photo / AP

Singer and newlywed Jennifer Lopez has revealed why she made the decision to become Mrs Jennifer Affleck.

The 53-year-old singer has described taking her husband Ben’s surname as a “power move”. Speaking to Vogue magazine for the December cover issue, Lopez said the move has made her “proud” and reaffirmed her feelings that she’s in full control of her life.

Jennifer said: “People are still going to call me Jennifer Lopez. But my legal name will be Mrs Affleck because we’re joined together. We’re husband and wife. I’m proud of that,” said the 50-year-old newlywed who married Affleck in Las Vegas in July before throwing another wedding extravaganza that lasted three days at Affleck’s $8.9 million estate in Georgia.

Jennifer Lopez on the cover of Vogue, December 2022. Photo / Vogue

“I don’t think that’s a problem... it’s not traditional. It doesn’t have any romance to it. It feels like it’s a power move, you know what I mean?

“I’m very much in control of my own life and destiny and feel empowered as a woman and as a person. I can understand that people have their feelings about it, and that’s okay, too.

“But if you want to know how I feel about it, I just feel like it’s romantic. It still carries tradition and romance to me, and maybe I’m just that kind of girl.”

The couple, dubbed Bennifer, first dated between 2002 and 2004, with the pair marrying other partners during their subsequent two-decade break.

Affleck went on to wed actress Jennifer Garner, now 50, with the couple sharing children Violet, 16, Seraphina, 13, and Samuel, 10, but splitting in 2018.

Jennifer married actor Marc Anthony, 54, in 2005 and three years later they had twins Emme and Max, 14, before divorcing in 2014.

Jennifer addressed her first-time round with her now-husband in her Vogue interview too, sharing: “We were so young and so in love at that time, really very carefree, with no kids, no attachments.

“And we were just living our lives, being happy and out there. It didn’t feel like we needed to hide from anybody or be real discreet.

“We were just living out loud, and it turned out to really bite us. There was a lot underneath the surface there, people not wanting us to be together, people thinking I wasn’t the right person for him.

“I became very guarded because I realised that they will fillet you. I really wish I could say more. I used to be like that. I am like that. But I’ve also learned.”