For as long as there has been social media, there have been Ben Affleck memes. The actor’s natural look of disdain and existential dread has been a whole mood online for years. Whether he’s caught sighing at life’s cruel tortures during a cigarette break or staring off into the void on a beach, Affleck’s paparazzi photos never fail to instantly become meme gold. And yes, his wife Jennifer Lopez is well aware of this.
When Entertainment Tonight asked Lopez about her husband’s signature depressed look at the 2024 Golden Globes, she made sure to emphasize that looks can be deceiving.
“Ben is doing alright,” Lopez said. “You don’t need to worry about Ben. Let me just tell you, he is good. He is happy ... He’s like, ‘I’m chilling. I don’t understand what people are pressed for.’”
Although Affleck may look miserable in a lot of photos, he has a lot to be smiling about. In 2021, he rekindled his romance with Lopez nearly two decades after they first dated in the early 2000s. In 2022, they got married, and have been inseparable ever since — well, except for the moments Affleck goes on his coffee runs and is photographed looking characteristically grumpy.
This isn’t the first time Lopez has addressed her husband’s meme status. When the trailer for Affleck’s movie Air dropped in early 2023, Lopez shared a still of him looking particularly upset and captioned it, “My husband’s happy face.”
Affleck himself has also spoken about his unique position in internet culture. “I have a very unhappy-looking resting face,” he admitted on Jimmy Kimmel Live in March 2023. “It’s how God made me.”
After he yet again spawned a hilariously somber meme by looking bored at the 2023 Grammys, Affleck cleared up all the chatter by insisting he “had a good time” at the awards show but was just caught by the cameras during an awkward moment when he didn’t know he was in frame.
So, even if he may not be smiling on the outside, you can rest assured that Affleck is not as sad as he looks.
