Ben Affleck and Jen Garner: drama, virtue, T-shirt
It's Gossip Time!
Hello and welcome to Gossip Time, a weekly guide to the stars by Allie Jones. This week: celebrity exes communicate through T-shirts, influencers seek redemption, and Hilary Duff’s slippers go on sale.
The last time we talked about Ben Affleck in this newsletter, he was visiting a jewelry store with his photogenic girlfriend Ana de Armas. Affleck and de Armas have been dating for about a year now, and their relationship has more or less floated the paparazzi industry during a particularly fraught period. Now, according to a new People exclusive, the couple has officially moved in together, which is, of course, the last big step before an engagement. They’re making their home in Affleck’s $20 million “dad pad” in the Pacific Palisades, which happens to be just a few minutes away from Affleck’s ex-wife Jennifer Garner’s $13 million property, so it’s easy for Affleck and Garner’s three kids to go back and forth. De Armas has reportedly put her place in Venice Beach on the market. (Let me know if you buy it.)
How do Affleck, 48, and de Armas, 32, feel about this development? A “friend of Affleck’s” told People that "their relationship continues to be strong." Another source revealed that “Ben and Ana seem great.” So: strong and great.
As if to emphasize his recent domestic commitment, Affleck was photographed this week wearing a T-shirt from the Cuban brand Clandestina emblazoned with the phrase “se acabó el drama.” That roughly translates to “the drama is over,” which is quite a statement coming from the actor, given everything that has happened in his love life over the last few years. Is the drama over?
Perhaps the answer is on another T-shirt.
A few days after Affleck debuted his drama-free tee, Garner, who loves wearing slogans herself (though perhaps not quite as much as her friend Reese Witherspoon), was photographed making her own statement. She went shopping in a T-shirt that says “peace, love, VIRTUE,” which is a positive sentiment and also an #ad for Virtue Labs, the hair care company for which Garner is a spokesperson.
Affleck says no more drama. Garner says peace, love, and hair. This holiday season, everyone in the Pacific Palisades can finally relax (and get ready for an Affleck/de Armas engagement, mark my words).
Now that we’re all living happily ever after, I hope the former spouses can look back and remember the good times, like this moment below, memorialized by one of my favorite celebrity chroniclers Pop Culture Died in 2009.
One person whose drama is not over: Carl Lentz, the Hillsong pastor who was recently ousted for “leadership issues,” “breaches of trust,” and uh, cheating on his wife. According to People, the 42-year-old former mentor to Justin Bieber is preparing to seek treatment at “an outpatient facility that specializes in depression, anxiety, and pastoral burnout.” I’m assuming this highly specialized program is located in L.A., as Lentz and his family are currently renting a $16,000-a-month home in Manhattan Beach. When I first learned of this real estate decision, I thought, that seems expensive, even for someone who perhaps made a lot of money ministering to celebrities, but The Sun reports that Tyler Perry is footing the bill for the rental. (Seriously!)
Though Hillsong has divorced itself from its most controversial pastor, the church is still in trouble. Just today, Business Insider published a report detailing allegations of racism and homophobia in the organization’s Boston outpost. It will be interesting to see which celebrities, if any, return to church when in-person services start happening again.
For his part, Bieber has yet to say a word about any of the Hillsong fallout. Over the Thanksgiving holiday, he posted his own Notes app sermon about the “miraculous healing power” of Jesus and recommended that his 152 million followers check out Churchome, another hip millennial congregation that’s led by Judah Smith. It’s like I always say: When one 40-something pastor wearing cool glasses falls, another rises.
Also seeking redemption this week is Olivia Jade, the 21-year-old influencer daughter of Lori Loughlin and Mossimo Giannulli. Loughlin and Giannulli are currently serving short prison sentences for their involvement in the infamous Varsity Blues college cheating scandal, and Jade is attempting to … restart her YouTube career, I guess? Underscoring just how influential the show has become, she chose Red Table Talk with Jada Pinkett Smith, Adrienne Banfield-Norris, and Willow Smith for the first (and perhaps only) stop on her apology tour. I can’t claim to know exactly what she wanted to get out of her appearance on the show, but I don’t think she was successful.
STUFF BY HILARY DUFF: Hilary Duff’s Vince Camuto slippers are on sale at Macy’s.
Just so you know.
Finally, I’ll leave you with a holiday gift recommendation. If you’re currently shopping for your loved ones or yourself, why not pick up a copy of The Particulars of Peter by my friend and certified genius Kelly Conaboy? It’s really a perfect book, but you don’t have to take my word for it, because it’s also a People pick!
This is in the December 14 “People of the Year” issue, which has multiple different covers featuring George Clooney, Regina King, Selena Gomez, and Dr. Fauci. Incredible. Congratulations, Kelly (and Peter).
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would love to see an installment all about the celebs who have really suffered from the lack of attention during the pandemic (looking at you, January Jones!)