Ever since Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner announced their separation last week, the couple have been bombarded with speculation that Ben’s friendship with Jennifer Lopez was partly to blame.
After all, those two have remained friends since they broke up after a two-year relationship in 2004 – and Ben even told an interviewer that he still likes her.
But when NY Magazine’s The Cut spoke to celebrity publicist Rob Shuter, he revealed that there could be more than just friendship between them.
“Jennifer, historically, has had a pattern of going back to past romances. She dated Marc Anthony, she broke up with him, she fell head over heels with Ben Affleck, and then when they broke up, she ran back to the arms of Marc, and within months they’re married,” he pointed out.
“Would it surprise me if they [Ben and J-Lo] talk to each other? They’ve got each other’s emails and phone numbers. Would it surprise me if someone reached out, in the same way that regular people do?”
However, Rob also thinks J-Lo is making a point by being caught with Casper Smart by the paparazzi, to show Jennifer Garner that she’s no threat.
“But if there was a photograph of Jen and Ben together, that just happened to hit the same weekend that his movie came out? I think the paparazzi would explode,” Rob added.
With Ben gearing up for his Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice promo tour, the Hollywood expert thinks we could soon be hearing about the breakdown of Ben’s marriage from the horse’s mouth.
“Ben’s going to Comic-Con. He’s got Batman in two weeks. I think they’re hoping that when Batman comes out, this has died down,” said Rob.
“He’ll have a few stock answers that he can pull out, and then he’ll move on and talk about the movie.”
Watch this space for Bennifer 2:0…
14 of the most shocking celebrity couple break-ups ever
14 of the most shocking celebrity couple breakups ever
1 of 16Chris Martin and Gwyneth Paltrow
Conscious uncoupling be damned, this was sad. Gwyn and Chris were so lovey dovey - meeting at a Coldplay concert and getting married barely a year later.
2 of 16Mariah Carey and Nick Cannon
An unsuspecting breakup - we wonder what Nick Cannon did with that HUGE 'Mariah' tattoo on his shoulder blades?! Shortly after their split, Nick was rumoured to be flinging it off with Kanye West's ex - Amber Rose.
3 of 16Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams
Hearts broke EVERYWHERE with this one and although Ryan is now with Eva Mendes and they have a child together, we will NEVER get over this split. Soz Eva.
4 of 16Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson
"S––– happens, you know?" Pattinson told British Esquire in its September 2014 issue about Stewart's fling with director Rupert Sanders. "It's just young people … it's normal! And honestly, who gives a s–––?" And as shocking as this was when those pictures of Kristen and Rupert were released - we're with Rob on this one.
5 of 16Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston
Well this was a blunder of a breakup if ever we saw one and 10 devastating years since our world was turned upside down. And it turns out, 10 years is not long enough to move past Jen and Brad. Even today, when we're feeling down, we flip on that episode of F.R.I.E.N.D.S when Brad guest-starred and just try to look for clues. We can't really watch Mr. & Mrs. Smith again - because that's where Brad met Angelina Jolie. One of the reasons for their split.
6 of 16Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez
This was a particularly emotional breakup for Bieber - who even when someone was mentioned Selena in an interview he would flip out. However Selena said, in an interview in 2013, that she was "well stressed out" from this very public breakup. Poor loves.
7 of 16Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore
The pair's divorce was finalised in 2013. It was reported it was down to Ashton's infidelity that caused this breakup. Anywho, he's with Mila Kunis now and we love that way better because they had history from appearing on That '70s Show together. We don't even feel sorry for Demi, she's a big girl and he was a sleeze to you anyways, Demi.
8 of 16Katy Perry and Russell Brand
They were married for a year, he broke up with her on Twitter and was overall not very nice to her, Katy wrote a song (By The Grace of God) about it all. Team Perry all the way on this one.
9 of 16Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake
If you're too young to remember this breakup, TRUST US, when we say if we don't find love and incidentally die alone, it is Britney and Justin's fault. Just watch Justin's Cry Me A River music video and you'll understand.
10 of 16Khloe Kardashian and Lamar Odom
They broke-up amid speculation of Lamar's drug problem. They're still married. So we don't really know what's going on with these two, but we miss Khloe calling Lamar 'Lam-Lam' and 'Lammy'. *Sobs
11 of 16Cheryl Fernandez-Versini (formerly known as Cole) and Ashley Cole
Footballer Ashley cheated on Chezza - with what was rumoured to be a number of girls - and broke Cheryl's heart. She wrote about him in a book and it sounded DEVASTATING. There were even pictures of Chezza on holiday with her gal pals looking very, very skinny. Look how happy they were in this picture?! - Oh well she's happily married to a hot French man now (and has a MUCH better last name). Shame on you Ashley.
12 of 16Chris Brown and Rihanna
This was a turbulent and VERY public break up in which Chris beat Rihanna up (police also reported bite marks) after the Grammys in 2009. In court, he admitted to the allegations and was sentenced to time in prison and community service. Chris is in an on/off relationship with Karrueche Tran, currently they're broken up. He also found out he has a love-child with a one-night stand to a woman he is not with. Rihanna has been recently linked to Leonardo DiCaprio.
13 of 16Miley Cyrus and Liam Hemsworth
We don't really know why they broke up but Liam handled it very maturely. Miley went a bit off the rails posting weird stuff on Instagram. We feel like Miley lost out with this fine specimen.
14 of 16Harry Styles and Taylor Swift
They were literally seen out for like two dates, can hardly be called a relationship, but if this happened for real and lasted we would have been well happy. HOWEVER, Taylor is now with Calvin Harris and we LOVE Talvin. A LOT.
15 of 16A couple we're glad broke up...
Lauren Goodger and Mark Wright. Otherwise Mark and Michelle Keegan would have NEVER happened and we love M & M. Sorry Lauren, you are lovely and we hope you find true love elsewhere.
16 of 16AND A COUPLE WE'RE VERY, VERY HAPPY ARE STILL TOGETHER...
Adam Brody and Leighton Meester