Why Ben Affleck Was Not at the 2024 Met Gala With Jennifer Lopez

Originally appeared on E! Online

Ben Affleck made quite the appearance on May 5, but the NSFW roast of Tom Brady had nothing to do with why he wasn't Jennifer Lopez's plus-one at the 2024 Met Gala on May 6.

The Oscar winner, fresh from tearing anyone who ever hated on the former New England Patriots quarterback a new one, was actually never signed up to accompany his wife to this particular work event.

Affleck remained in L.A., where he's been busy shooting The Accountant 2, the sequel to his 2016 action hit, his rep told E! News. He's also been noticeably clean-shaven for the role.

Lopez, meanwhile, went ahead to New York to prepare for her 14th Met Gala appearance and first as one of the event's co-chairs. And she of course had no trouble getting all dressed up on her own for the ethereal-sounding "The Garden of Time" dress code, spun from this year's Costume Institute exhibition, "Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion."

While that name is a nod to reviving pieces of couture that have been fast asleep in the institution's archive, the 54-year-old was still giving happily-ever-after in glittering naked-effect gown by Schiaparelli Haute Couture. (Swoon over every look on the Met Gala red carpet right here.)

And there was no fashionable lateness on Lopez's part, either, as this year she was a de facto host with Zendaya, Chris Hemsworth, Bad Bunny and Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour.

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"When Anna calls you, and asks you to co-host the Met Gala along with her—it's kinda the biggest night in fashion—and to raise money for the museum, it was a real honor," Lopez said in a video posted to Vogue's Instagram in April. "It's a nice thing to be a part of."

At the time, she had "a few different sketches" she was mulling for the big night, but admitted she's the type of person who waits till the last minute to decide.

"I like choices," she explained, "and then I go, 'OK, this is how I feel today and then we try to create some type of amazing look—'cause that is the time for looks!"

Affleck, 51, did attend the Met Gala with Lopez in September 2021 (usually the first Monday in May, it was delayed due to the pandemic), the couple wearing masks on the red carpet in keeping with the de facto theme of safety first, alongside the actual theme, "In America: A Lexicon of Fashion."

Lopez wore a safari-inspired gown with a plunging neckline by Ralph Lauren and he wore... you know, a tuxedo. She tapped the classic American brand last year, too, when she hit the stairs solo for "Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty."

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While she and Affleck don't always attend events like these together, when they do...all eyes are on them.

So he may have wished he'd been wearing a mask at the 2023 Grammys, when a few photos taken during the ceremony gave off the impression to some people that he wasn't having the best time ever. Asked about it later, the actor noted that he was, in fact, at his "wife's work event."

But, Affleck clarified to The Hollywood Reporter, "I had a good time at the Grammys. My wife was going, and I thought, 'Well, there'll be good music. It might be fun.' At movie award shows, it's speeches and, like, sound-mixing webinars. But I thought this would be fun."

However, he not only missed his chance to be meme fodder alongside his wife tonight, he missed a meet-up with buddy Matt Damon, who was in attendance with wife Luciana Barroso. (As well as notably missing from The Greatest Roast of All Time for his favorite QB.)

Keep reading to see which couples have turned the 2024 Met Gala into a date night:

Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban

Morgan Spector and Rebecca Hall

Dove Cameron and Damiano David

Queen Latifah and Eboni Nichols

Jeremy Strong and Emma Wall

Kris Jenner and Corey Gamble

Eddie Redmayne and Hannah Bagshawe

Taika Waititi and Rita Ora

Matthew Macfadyen and Keeley Hawes

James Corden and Julia Carey

Matt Damon and Luciana Barroso Damon

Francesco Carrozzini and Bee Carrozzini

Chris Hemsworth and Elsa Pataky

Baz Luhrmann and Catherine Martin

Leonardo MAria Del Vecchio and Jessica Serfaty

Steve Newhouse and Gina Sanders