How J Lo's efforts to keep family together amid Ben Affleck divorce are falling apart after stepdaughter's shock decision

Divorces are bound to get messy sometimes - especially if there are children involved. And if you're part of one of Hollywood's most famous 'it-couples', things could easily get even more complicated. Ben Affleck, 52, famously rekindled his romance with Jennifer Lopez, 55, in 2021, nearly 20 years after they called off their engagement.

Fast forward four years and the couple, who showcased their love with two weddings in 2022, have settled their divorce and officially ended their short-lived marriage. While they finalised their divorce last month, further questions are raised about what will happen to their blended family.

Despite the actor and pop-star not often being seen together since last summer, both have been spotted out with their stepkids in what seems to be a bid to keep the familial ties together. JLo in particular appears to have kept a strong bond with Ben's children, and his daughter Violet, 19, was even visited by the singer's sister in Yale over the fall.

Meanwhile in December, Ben reunited with both his exes - Jennifer Lopez and Jennifer Garner - to watch his child Fin, and JLo's child Emme, both of whom are 16, in a school play. Ben Affleck, 52, famously rekindled his romance with Jennifer Lopez, 55, in 2021, nearly 20 years after they called off their engagement. Fast forward four years and the couple, who showcased their love with two weddings in 2022, have settled their divorce and officially ended their short-lived marriage.

Ben and JLo were even spotted exchanging Christmas presents with one another. The couple, who married in July 2022, have five children from previous relationships and gone to great lengths to make them feel like a family unit. The Jenny from the Block singer shares Emme and Maximilian Muñiz, 16, with ex-husband Marc Anthony while Ben welcomed Violet Affleck, 19, Fin Affleck, 16, and Samuel Affleck, 12, during his 10-year marriage to Jennifer Garner.

At the couple's lavish Georgia wedding, which took place at their £8.9 'plantation' estate, Ben and Jennifer's children walked down the aisle with the bride. The pair also whisked their children off to Paris to join them on their honeymoon and were pictured enjoying a boat trip along the Seine.

After officially tying the knot at a Las Vegas chapel that July, Ben and Jennifer threw a wedding reception at their Georgia estate the following month. The pair's five children were pictured walking down the aisle behind the bride - with J'Lo's twins holding her veil.

However, despite attempts to hold the fort down, it appears cracks may be emerging as Ben and Jen Garner's eldest has reportedly felt like she was 'used as a pawn so to speak during her dad's split'. Here, FEMAIL looks at Bennifer 2.0's attempts to save their children from the brunt of their separation...

'Left feeling like a pawn'. Despite attempts to hold the fort down, it appears cracks may be emerging as Ben and Jen Garner's eldest Violet (left) has reportedly felt like she was 'used as a pawn so to speak during her dad's split'. Pictured with Ben and JLo in 2022.

Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck's daughter Violet chose to take a step back from her former stepmother, Jennifer Lopez, after being left feeling like she had been a 'pawn' during the pair's divorce, an insider has claimed. When Ben and JLo separated last summer, Violet raised eyebrows after choosing to join the singer for a stay in the Hamptons, as well as posting about the hitmaker's sister Lynda Lopez paying her a visit at Yale university.

Insiders noted that the move came as a surprise to her parents, who had been left confused by the 19-year-old's actions at the time. Now, sources have revealed that in the months that led to the divorce being finalized in January, Violet started to question whether there had been ulterior motives for keeping her close.

'Violet felt like she was used as a pawn so to speak during her dad's split from JLo,' an insider exclusively told DailyMail.com. They explained how Garner was careful not to try and limit her daughter's connections to Lopez's family as they noted: 'Jen supported her daughter getting close to the singer because she always puts her children first.

'But as the divorce loomed, the fact that Violet was hanging out with JLo and wearing her clothes was odd to the family. So too was Lynda Lopez visiting Violet at college.'. The source continued: 'But Jen even let this slide, because she wants Violet to be happy and respects that, as an adult, she can choose who to spend her time with even if Jen does not necessarily agree.'.

Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck 's daughter Violet chose to take a step back from her former stepmother, Jennifer Lopez , after being left feeling like she had been a 'pawn' during the pair's divorce, an insider has claimed. Pictured wearing the same dress her stepmother JLo wore in 2023.

However, the source revealed that Violet has consciously chosen to cut contact with Lopez and her family after watching her father's distress over the high profile divorce. 'Over time Violet started to see how upset her father was that their split was at the center of everything,' the insider explained. 'Ben never said a word about JLo.'.