Expert: Katie - 3/16/2003

Question
Hi
It's been a while since I asked questions last time and I'm back.

There has been tons of gossips around about Ben and Jen, and I try my best to catch up and update them, but since I live in Japan, there is limitation to collect right information naturally.

One thing that I don't know is that did Ben's mother really make negative statement on Jen to be her son's wife or their marriage?
And I also read that Matt is skeptical about Ben marrying Jen. Do you know anything about it?

Personally I don't think Ben made a right choice, and I don't think Jen has such wonderful personality Ben speaks about. Of course no one is perfect, but...(Sigh).

Anyway, I will be happy if you give any information or your opinion about above questions.

Looking forward to your reply.

Bye

Atsuko  

Answer
Dear Atsuko,

First of all, it's a pleasure to hear from you again, I'm always happy to answer your questions!

When the tabloids heard that Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez had decided to tie the knot, you can imagine what a rumor mill frenzy the whole ordeal was. I think everyone found it hard to separate the fact from the fiction. However, in Diane Sawyers's interview with Jennifer, the same interview that she announced their engagement in, Jennifer said that she had met Ben's mother and they got along very well, as did Ben with her parents. I'm not sure what Ben's exact words were, but he basically backed that statement up in an interview with Entertainment Tonight I was able to catch a few weeks later. As I recall, I remember him saying that Jen and Matt were cool with each other too, though I'm not sure if it was in that interview or not. But who's to say that Ben wasn't just saying that? The tabloids print one thing, the star says another, and we're all left looking at the situation with tilted heads and cross-eyed glances not sure whether to make heads or tails of it. I personally am more inclined to believe what comes straight out of the horse's mouth, so I'm going to take Ben and Jen's word on this one, but that's just me.

As for my take on the relationship, I don't know what to make of it. I don't really know either one of them, just what I read or what I see on television, so I don't really comment on it. If Jennifer is truly not the person that Ben makes her out to be, I have faith that Ben is smart enough to figure that out. But right now, Ben seems like he is deeply in love, and that's good enough for me.

P.S.- I don't know if you get any U.S. magazines in Japan, but if you get Vanity Fair, Ben is on this month's cover, and it's a really great article. It changed my mind about the whole Ben-Jen thing, because he not only says wonderful things about her, it seems sincere, not made up or phoney, which makes me believe even more than I did that he really does love her.

It was great to get another question from you. if you have any more questions or opinions, you know who to ask!

Sincerely,
Katie