Jennifer Lopez is an iconic name. So much so that she’s become one of the few celebrities to receive a nearly universal nickname of “JLo.” Since she and Ben Affleck finally tied the knot in July, she has legally changed her name to Jennifer Lynn Affleck. So, is "JAff" going to catch on? The decision to take her hubby’s last name has been a topic many don’t necessarily agree with her on. But, considering it is her name we’re talking about, the actress, singer and entrepreneur has shared her own reasoning for officially no longer being a Lopez.
JLo is far from the first newlywed to receive this criticism. Just about every couple who gets married deals with this conversation one way or another and may receive backlash from family and friends no matter the decision. When it comes to the Marry Me actress’ reasoning for changing her name legally to Mrs. Affleck, following a twenty-year timeline of Bennifer, she said this:
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. I don’t think that’s a problem.
Simple as that. While speaking to Vogue, Jennifer Lopez spoke to why she decided to become Mrs. Affleck, sharing that she's a proud to be the wife of her husband. When then asked about whether Ben Affleck should’ve taken her name instead, JLo continued with these words:
No! 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.
JLo is one for tradition and, when it came down to it, she just doesn’t feel like it would have been “romantic” for Ben Affleck to become Ben Lopez. This is certainly a topic that everyone seems to have different opinions on and is a "to each their own" type of decision. These days, it’s still very common for a wife to take their husband's name, with recent analysis on the subject finding that 70% of women are adopting their husband’s family name after getting married (via BBC).
There’s certainly an argument to be made that changing one’s maiden name might take away an aspect of a woman’s identity but, in the star's opinion, she’s “very much in control” of her life and feels “empowered” as a woman and person no matter what name is on official documents. Plus, it doesn’t sound like the use of her maiden name will go away when it comes to how the multi-hyphenate presents herself to the public. On her Instagram, she still goes by “JLo” and “Jennifer Lopez” and looks like she’ll use that as her stage name in movies, including her next leading role in the 2023 upcoming movie, Shotgun Wedding.
Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck opted to initially say “I do” in Las Vegas with a few witnesses before having a big ceremony a month later, on August 20, in Georgia that included a special appearance for a sweet wedding song moment. Now that Bennifer’s honeymoon has come and gone, the couple are reportedly “adjusted” and “unified” as a blended family. No matter what we each think about JLo’s decision to change her name, it looks like she can and is both Jennifer Lopez and Mrs. Affleck at once!
