Back in July...and then again in August... Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck finally tied the knot after nearly two decades since their broken engagement in 2004.
While many hopeless romantics felt they witnessed a 20-plus year fairy tale in the making, some—according to The New York Times —voiced disappointment Lopez had legally taken her husband's last name.
The singer and actor recently opened up to Vogue addressing the criticism.
"What? Really?" she began.
She then explained:
"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."
When interviewer Rob Haskell asked if any part of her wanted Affleck to become Mr. Lopez, she laughed:
"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?"
She continued to defend her decision to change her name.
"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."
Many took to Twitter to share their support of her decision as well as to express their happiness for the couple.
\u201c@people Mr and Mrs Affleck \u2764\ufe0f They look adorable together \ud83e\udd70\u201d— People (@People) 1667931000
\u201c@EW And who will decide for her about what name she wants to keep or take !? People are so free to invest themselves in issues, that definitely not their concern at-all. Stop moral policing around on internet and into other's life.\u201d— Entertainment Weekly (@Entertainment Weekly) 1667928613
\u201c@TODAYshow AS SHE SHOULD \ud83e\udd70\u201d— TODAY (@TODAY) 1667926816
\u201c@ETCanada @JLo Good for her! \u2764\ufe0f\u201d— ET Canada (@ET Canada) 1667922012
\u201c@JustJared I am so happy for them \ud83e\udd70\u201d— JustJared.com (@JustJared.com) 1667914872
\u201c@BuzzFeed Good for you J.Lo Affleck\u201d— BuzzFeed (@BuzzFeed) 1667926223
\u201c@enews Why are people so upset with her taking he's last name that doesn't make sense to me she's married to him people need to leave them alone\u201d— E! News (@E! News) 1667924168
\u201c@enews Mr and Mrs Affleck \u2764\ufe0f\u201d— E! News (@E! News) 1667924168
Lopez revealed to Vogue that there was always something special about Affleck.
"I always felt like there was a real love there, a true love there."
"People in my life know that he was a very, very special person in my life. When we reconnected, those feelings for me were still very real."
Lopez is currently filming the sci-fi thriller Atlas which is expected to be on Netflix by late 2023 or early 2024.
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