Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck Divorce: Why You Can’t Look Away

Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck are, after much, much, much speculation, getting divorced.

On Tuesday, Jennifer Lopez, 55, filed for divorce from Ben Affleck, 52, in Los Angeles Superior Court. Court filings obtained by USA TODAY confirmed the news. Notably, Tuesday marked the second anniversary of their Georgia wedding ceremony. Both TMZ and Variety report their date of separation as April 26.

TMZ first broke the story. USA TODAY has reached out to representatives for Affleck and Lopez for comments.

This marks the second marriage for Affleck and the fourth for Lopez. The couple has had an on-again, off-again relationship, being engaged twice, first in 2002 and then again in 2021.

For months, rumors about their impending divorce have circulated, many of them cheeky and cruel. Observing the trials of rich and famous people can be an enticing pastime for many, especially when it pertains to celebrity highs and lows.

But the lampooning of Lopez and Affleck might say more about society than about the couple. Experts suggest that our inability to look away stems from schadenfreude—finding joy in others’ hardships—and the captivating nature of a good story.

“There’s pleasure in watching rich people who seem to have it all, and these moments remind us that they really don’t,” said Elizabeth Cohen, associate professor at West Virginia University, who researches the psychology of media and pop culture. “And perhaps they don’t necessarily deserve it all.”

A psychological concept known as “social comparison” may explain our fascination with celebrity drama, Cohen notes. The theory posits that humans constantly compare themselves to others to gauge their own social position. When people perceive someone as “better,” they engage in upward social comparison.

“Upward social comparison can be positive, but it can also make you feel like you’re not where you need to be,” Cohen says. “It can be motivational, but it can also make you feel bad about yourself.”

The opposite is downward social comparison, where people consume media to feel superior to others. Observing the Lopez-Affleck divorce makes people realize these celebrities aren’t infallible, making them easier targets for criticism and projection.

“You watch these ridiculously wealthy people who have, in many ways, enviable lives, but then they don’t,” said Erica Chito-Childs, a sociology professor at Hunter College and The Graduate Center, CUNY.

Reality TV and social media have shown that even the rich and famous aren’t so perfect, and audiences evidently enjoy that revelation. Any awkward or regrettable move made by Lopez and Affleck becomes fodder for public scrutiny.

“We like watching other people behave in strange and bad ways,” noted Robert Thompson, founding director of the Bleier Center for Television and Popular Culture at the Newhouse School of Public Communications, Syracuse University. “We like watching other human beings melt down, regardless of their income status.”

According to Thompson, the appeal lies in the narrative. “There seems to be a narrative thread where we like watching people climb to wealth and status,” he explained. “But once they get there, one of the only narrative threads left is to watch them fall. We get a lot of schadenfreude pleasure out of that.”

Whether someone loves or hates this kind of drama is a personal choice rather than something ingrained. “Why do some people hate this and why do some people like it? That’s not a question for science,” Thompson said. “That’s a question for show business.”

If you feel you’re spending too much time focused on celebrities you don’t know, it might be time to take a break and focus on your own life instead.

Source: USA TODAY