Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck have embarked on a rite of passage that many couples have done before them by getting matching tattoos.
After their public Grammys spat, the 53-year-old singer shared on Valentine’s Day that she and Ben, 50, had gotten complementary ink to immortalize their love.
Now DailyMail.com has asked two relationship experts to weigh in on the Hollywood couple’s act of commitment and they have revealed why Bennifer should have waited longer before inking their bodies, and why the new additions could also help them through the hard times.
Megan Weks, a certified relationship expert and creator of The Manfunnel, told DailyMail.com she wasn’t against couples getting a tattoo to ‘represent their love and commitment,’ but that’s because laser removal technology was ‘quite effective.’
Jennifer Lopez shows off the matching tattoo she got with Ben Affleck on Valentine’s Day
The couple rekindled their romance after almost 20 years back in 2021 after Jennifer split from Alex Rodriguez
Ben’s similar tattoo that are two arrows crisscrossed with their first initials
‘One of the main reasons couples part is because of lack of commitment, therefore the act of getting the tattoo will increase the inner conflict faced when feeling the urge to split because they have declared their love on their bodies.
‘This can help the couple to continue to push toward resolution in hard times.’
But Megan said she would have liked to have seen JLo and Ben hold off on getting inked.
‘Jen and Ben only rekindled [their romance] in May of 2020, less than three years ago. I would have rather seen them get their inks after four years plus of being back together,’ she said.
‘After about four years in a relationship, dopamine decreases and attraction goes down. If things are going well, it gets replaced by the hormones oxytocin and vasopressin, which create the desire to bond, and move toward deeper commitment.
‘Oftentimes when the dopamine drops couples don’t have that chemical induced elation to even out their differences.
‘Because Jen is historically the queen of relationship stints, I would have liked to see her take her time before getting the ink but what the heck, you only live once.’
Megan did add that she was rooting for the couple.
Now DailyMail.com has asked two relationship experts, Amy Chan and Megan Weks, to weigh in on the Hollywood couple’s act of commitment
They believe Jennifer and Ben should have waited longer before getting their complementary ink
‘Here’s hoping this one lasts forever as I know she believes in marriage and love and I’d love to see them happy forevermore,’ the expert said.
Another relationship expert Amy Chan, who is founder of Breakup Bootcamp, agreed the couple should have waited longer.
‘Matching tattoos are romantic, until they’re not. The appeal is to signify the significance and permanence of the relationship. But there are other ways with less chance of future regret to signify your love,’ she told DailyMail.com.
‘When you’re high on the love chemicals and dopamine and oxytocin in the first two years of the relationship it can seem like a great idea. But the reality is, even the happiest of couples can break up.
‘If a couple is adamant about getting matching tattoos I recommend they give themselves a waiting period. Ideally, 18 months as research shows that’s the approximate time the early romance love chemicals start to fade and the body goes back into an equilibrium. After all, what’s 18 months if you’re going to be together forever?’
The couple pictured while they were dating the first time in 2002 on the set of filming Jennifer’s music video for Jenny From The Block
The couple met on the set of Gigli in 2001 and started dating shortly after. Sadly they broke off their engagement in 2004, but they rekindled their romance almost 20 years later in 2021
In her Valentine’s Day post, the Out Of Sight star wrote that the ink was a symbol of their ‘Commitment,’ adding an infinity symbol to show that their love was undying.
‘Happy Valentine’s Day my love,’ she continued, before telling her fans that more updates from the romantic holiday would follow in her newsletter.
She included several throwback photos of the lovebirds from their first relationship, and included referenced both their history and her upcoming album in her hashtags: ‘#CommitmentIsSexy,’ ‘#ThisIsUsThen,’ ‘#ThisIsUsNow,’ and ‘#ThisIsMeNow.’
Jennifer led with a photo of her tattoo, which was located on the side of her ribcage, just below her bust, which was covered with an ultra-short cropped white T-shirt that also put her rock-hard abs on display.
The design appeared to show an infinity symbol with ‘Jennifer’ and ‘Ben’ written across the delicate loops to signal that they were together forever.
An arrow — presumably one of Cupid’s — was shot through the figure. There also appeared to be an additional design or text on the bottom left corner of the tattoo, though the glare on her protective clear bandage obscured it.
Ben’s tattoo design was similar, though not identical. His had two crisscrossing arrows that appeared to be tied together at the center with string, and the couple’s initials were nestled in between the arrows.
His extreme closeup made it more difficult to tell the exact location, though it appeared to be similarly placed.
The couple met on the set of Gigli in 2001 and started dating shortly after.
Sadly they broke off their engagement in 2004, but they rekindled their romance almost 20 years later in 2021.
JLo and Ben then finally tied the knot in the summer of 2022.
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Read more at DailyMail.co.uk