Jen Affleck Reveals The Sweet Thing Ben Affleck Told Her When They Met
From maybe-cousins to real family!
A long-overdue Affleck family reunion has finally happened. The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives star Jen Affleck is starring in Dunkin’s new commercial with A-list actor Ben Affleck, and yes, he was aware of their maybe-relation when they met on set. Jen tells Elite Daily that not only was Ben in the know about his name coming up on Mormon Wives, but he affirmed that even if he isn’t technically related to Jen, they’re family now.
“It was crazy. He was in the trailer next to me, and he came over to meet me with his daughter and her best friend,” Jen says. She credits 19-year-old Violet Affleck with filling her father in on her whole backstory in claiming to be a relative of Ben’s. In the first season of The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, Jen and her husband, Zac, spoke about how Zac is a second cousin of Ben’s, despite never having met the actor. However, the genealogy didn’t seem to support that claim.
He was like, ‘You know what? I don’t care what anyone says; we’re cousins.’
“Ben’s daughter was a huge fan, so he got the scoop from her,” Jen says. “He was extremely nice about it. He was like, ‘You know what? I don’t care what anyone says; we’re cousins.’”
While the two Afflecks shared some sweet words behind the scenes of the Dunkin’ commercial, the dynamic was decidedly different in front of the cameras. The new ad, which advertises Dunkin’s $6 Meal Deal, has Jen introducing herself as the “Value Affleck” as she throws some shade at Ben for being “so dated” and “a weathered 53.”
Despite the pointed barbs, Jen says the vibe on set was always positive and light, a notable shift from how her reality show treated the cousin debacle. “Ben was cracking up. It was all just humorous and light-hearted,” Jen says. “On our show, they took everything very seriously, and everybody was like, ‘Is she related? Is she not?’ This was a fun change of pace.”
Jen has already filmed the third season of Mormon Wives, which will premiere Nov. 13 on Hulu. Though she stepped away from the cameras in Season 2 to take care of her mental health, Jen says she never truly believed she would leave the show for good. “I felt like if I just walked away, I would have regrets for the rest of my life,” she says. “I didn’t want Season 2 to be how people viewed me, because I think the version of me that people have seen so far isn’t my authentic self. It was important for me to come back and actually show who I am. So, I’m excited for people to see Season 3.”
