Ben Affleck was disappointed when Mindy Kaling decided to joke about his divorce from Jennifer Lopez during the Democratic National Convention in Chicago on Wednesday, according to insiders.
The 52-year-old actor and his estranged wife, 55, have officially ended their marriage. The singer filed for divorce on Tuesday night, after months of speculation.
Just a day later, Kaling, 45, gave a cheeky nod to the failure of her marriage and gave a shout-out to the stellar delegation from her home state of Massachusetts.
As she listed sports teams and famous names from the state, such as the Boston Red Sox and Jason Tatum, The Mindy Project star said, “Ben Affleck, hang in there!” to loud cheers from the crowd.
“Although it happened at the time, although it was said as a joke, it was a moment when Ben found out that Mindy had raised him at the DNC,” a source exclusively told DailyMail.com.
Ben Affleck was disappointed by Mindy Kaling’s decision to joke about his divorce from Jennifer Lopez during the Democratic National Convention in Chicago on Wednesday
Kaling listed a number of sports teams and famous names from her home state when she said, “Ben Affleck, keep it up!”
The insider explained that the Argo star was shocked to find out his personal life had been discussed at a political conference.
“The last place he ever expected or wanted anyone to talk about him, especially his divorce, would be at a political convention,” the source continued.
“He’s not going to hold Mindy accountable, but this was just a moment where he wants people, especially those who are his peers in Hollywood, to know that they just shouldn’t talk about his personal life.”
The Daredevil star knows the joke will quickly become old news, but even mentioning his divorce on such a public platform highlights one of the major issues that caused problems during their marriage.
The insider explained, “This will pass and people will forget about it, but it’s mainly the constant talk about his relationship with JLo that’s the reason it didn’t work out this second time around.
“Ben values his privacy and dealing with adversity in the public eye is a stressful situation for him and when people in his community bring it up, so to speak, it’s just frustrating. Even though Mindy didn’t want to give Ben a headache, she did.”
The Good Will Hunting star doesn’t expect Kaling to apologize for the joke in the future. Instead, he wants to move on with his life now that he’s closing this chapter.
The source confirmed: ‘He doesn’t want an apology, an excuse or anything, what’s said is what’s said, time to move on. He just wishes he didn’t have to move on at all.
“He just wants to be known for his work and for being a great father, not for any mistakes or setbacks that happen to him in life.”
The actor and his estranged wife, 55, have officially ended their marriage when the singer filed for divorce on Tuesday night after months of speculation
The insider concluded, “Mindy did her thing, and he refuses to make it a thing. It was a momentary inconvenient moment to deal with, time to focus on more important things in life.”
DailyMail.com has contacted representatives for Affleck and Kaling.
Kaling received a viral shout-out after Lopez filed papers without a lawyer on Tuesday, just hours before the couple’s second wedding anniversary.
In legal documents obtained by DailyMail.com, the On The Floor singer listed April 26, 2024 as the date of the divorce. It was confirmed that the couple did not sign a prenuptial agreement before saying ‘I do’.
Lopez and Affleck first began dating in 2002 after bonding on the set of the film Gigli. They soon became engaged.
But in 2004, just before they were to become husband and wife, they called it quits.
They both married others – she tied the knot with Marc Anthony in 2004, while Affleck tied the knot with Jennifer Garner in 2005 – but after splitting, they eventually got back together.
A source said: ‘Ben values his privacy and dealing with adversity in the public eye is a stressful situation for him, and when people in his community bring it up, it’s just frustrating.’
The superstar couple first tied the knot in July 2022 at a Las Vegas chapel, followed by a larger and lavish ceremony the following month at his Georgia estate on August 20.
Rumors of a divorce surfaced a few months earlier, in May, when the couple had not been seen together for over a month. Trouble reportedly arose in the marriage during their honeymoon in Italy in 2022.
The couple’s way of dealing with fame appeared to cause problems in the marriage.
Affleck previously spoke about his desire to keep their relationship “private” in JLo’s documentary The Greatest Love Story Never Told.
The film followed the making of her latest album, This Is Me… Now, which was largely inspired by her romance with Affleck.
During one segment of the film, Affleck admitted he was “flabbergasted” when he saw her musicians flipping through his personal love letters, which Lopez had given them as inspiration for her next album.
Lopez and Affleck, 52, first got engaged in late 2002 but called it quits a year later before finally ending their relationship in 2004.
The couple rekindled their relationship in 2021 and married in a Las Vegas ceremony in July of that year, before having a lavish wedding at his Georgia estate in August 2022 (pictured)
The actor kept the correspondence with the singer during his 13-year marriage to Garner, later having the letters and emails bound into a book to give to her when they met again in 2021.
He told the camera: ‘Things that are private, I’ve always felt were sacred and special, because they’re partly private.’
Lopez will reportedly “keep the $5 million green diamond engagement ring” during the divorce.
Meanwhile, the duo may also be seen together, as they are due to ‘reunite’ in two weeks for the premiere of their film Unstoppable.