It’s been over two years since Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner first separated, and for much of that time, it looked as though the famous couple might give their marriage a second shot.
In April of this year, however, Garner filed for divorce from Affleck and made it abundantly clear that there was no reconciliation in the offing.
Shortly thereafter, the world learned that Affleck is dating Lindsay Shookus, and all hopes for a Bennifer 2.0 reunion were officially dashed.
Initially, it looked as though the divorce would be a relatively civil one.
After all, Jen has a successful career and plenty of her own money, and both parties are reportedly committed to working out an amicable co-parenting relationship.
It’s even been reported that Garner waited until Affleck completed rehab to file so that there would be no cause to question his fitness as a parent when it came time to hammer out a custody agreement.
This week, In Touch reported that Jen was recently spotted hanging out with Ben’s mom in Los Angeles.
“It was weird to see them being so chummy,” a source told the magazine.
“Because Ben has put Jen through so much.”
On the outside, it looks as though Affleck and Garner are very amicably going their separate ways.
But one insider says things between Ben and Jen are soon to get very ugly.
The cause of the upcoming conflict is the same point of contention that trips up so many separated couples – money.
“Jen has made the decision to go after Ben’s future earnings,” says the insider.
The reasoning behind Jen’s decision to essentially go nuclear remains unclear.
The source speculates it may have something to do with Ben humiliating Jen by going public with his new relationship so soon.
Whatever the case, Jen apparently has her sights set on paychecks Ben hasn’t received yet:
“She’s been reaching out to top Hollywood divorce attorneys. She wanted the split to be amicable,” explained the source.
“But she needs a pit bull who isn’t intimidated by Ben’s power and wealth and who will be relentless in getting her the biggest divorce settlement possible.”
A Hollywood divorce attorney tells In Touch that Jen may have trouble staking a claim to money from contracts Ben signed after their separation, as that wouldn’t be considered community property under California law.
But as the source points out, Ben may want to agree to the deal just to avoid a messy public showdown.
“I imagine Ben never expected Jen to go after his future earnings, and he will absolutely be furious about it and want to fight her on it,” said the source.
“Ben and Jen didn’t have a prenup when they married [in 2005], so he might want to consider giving Jen what she is asking for to avoid an even heftier payoff if this goes to trial.”
Sounds like the dissolution of Bennifer isn’t going as smoothly as we’d been led to believe.