While Ben Affleck has Jennifer Garner to lean on, this person has stayed by Jennifer Lopez’s side amid divorce

Jennifer Lopez has had a whirlwind year. Aside from her busy career and highly publicized split and subsequent divorce from Ben Affleck, her name got tarnished in the wake of Diddy’s arrest and legal troubles. Despite all of these, one person stayed by her side, and so she took the time to celebrate this person’s special day recently.

On Thursday, Dec. 12, the 55-year-old singer-actress took a break from her busy schedule to honor none other than her mom, Guadalupe “Lupe” Rodriguez, as she turned 79. Lopez paid a heartfelt tribute to her lifelong cheerleader on Instagram. “Happy birthday mommy!! I love you so very much!! Thank you for being there for me always…[two white hearts emoji] #TheLupinator,” Lopez captioned a series of photos showing her and her mom through the years.

The “On the Floor” singer, who had been spotted holiday shopping earlier in the day, also added a celebratory touch on her Instagram Stories with a snap of herself and her mom accompanied by Neil Diamond’s “Sweet Caroline,” according to the Daily Mail. For JLo, this family milestone could not have come at a better time as she is currently navigating life post-divorce from Affleck, 52. Lupe has been a steady source of support throughout the ordeal.

Lopez and Affleck, who formally tied the knot in a grand second-chance wedding in August 2022, recently split after two years of marriage. Things seemed to be going well for the two a year after their nuptials. However, things turned sour earlier this year, and Lopez eventually found herself filing for divorce on Aug. 20 — on their supposedly second wedding anniversary.

Amid the split and divorce, the Gone Girl actor leaned heavily on his ex-wife, Jennifer Garner. They were frequently spotted together before and after JLo filed to terminate their marriage. But then, this was not that surprising since Affleck and Garner are co-parenting their three children — Violet, 19, Seraphina, 15, and Samuel, 12.

However, sources disclosed in early December that Garner actually wanted Affleck to work things out with Lopez since she’s gotten pretty close with the singer after they decided to blend their families during the latter’s marriage to her ex. “When things started getting rocky between Ben and Jennifer [Lopez], Jen was very supportive of their relationship and encouraged Ben to work on their marriage,” an insider told Page Six. “At the end of the day, she just wants Ben to be happy.”

But since the split, Garner has seemingly kept her distance from Lopez, with one source saying, “Garner hasn’t been in touch with Lopez since the divorce.” Garner has continued to share a close bond with Affleck, however, as proven by their reunion on Thanksgiving with their kids.

As for Lopez, more recent reports say she’s resting her heart and not looking for a new relationship while finalizing her divorce from Affleck. “Jennifer isn’t actively looking to date right now and is still processing losing Ben again. She’s always been quick to jump into a relationship after one ends, but this time she’s trying something new,” an insider recently said. “She wants 2025 to be the year she gets back to being herself,” the insider added. While Lopez appears keen on rebuilding her life post-split, she’s getting all the support she could get from her mom. This is good for the “Jenny From the Block” hitmaker since she’s been through a lot in the past year.