It is very difficult to smell the roses. But I hope Ben Affleck is taking a huge whiff of 'em from the deck of J.Lo's yacht right now.
For a while there, it felt like the only things Anyone Online (worst kind of people, we can both agree, especially since we're both here, and we're both one of them) wanted to talk about, in regard to Affleck, were his milky and plentiful iced Dunkins, his offensively audacious back tattoo, or his long fall from those late '90s, early 2000s glory days. The papparazi seemed to only catch him at his most exhausted. And everyone loved it. Affleck had become much more of an internet punch line than an actor. (He was still acting, by the way. I thought They Way Back was quite enjoyable.)
So to watch him thrive over the past few weeks has been a joy. He's back with his ex! And while that isn't usually a sign of progress, Affleck's ex is Jennifer Lopez, which puts him back in the glass-half-full corner of the internet. I love to see it; you love to see it. But I am more than entertained by it.
We have all experienced lows in our lives. The past 16 months, woof! Enough's been said about that. Think about the last really hard breakup you went through. Think about that time you got fired. The times where this fucking sucks wouldn't even do your despair justice. Someone probably told you things will get better, because usually they do. And you probably scoffed, because patience in those moments rarely feels like an option.
But look at our guy! He's out here smiling, hand in hand with Jennifer Freakin' Lopez! He's not walking down the street in Boston with calories dangling from his fingers. He's on a damn yacht. With what felt like the snap of Thanos's fingers, our boy seems to suddenly be doing not just better but great.
It's a reminder that one day you will wake up and everything will be good-different. Your time will come too, king. I'm talking to you, dear reader. And I'm talking to Alex Rodriguez, too. I thought of this when I saw the latest photos of America's it-couple-of-the-moment aboard the yacht today. I just felt really happy for Ben Affleck. And I felt happy for you, too. The next time shit goes downhill, you can conjure the image of our boy recreating the Jenny From the Block music video with the one that got away, and you can tell yourself better days are ahead.
We’ve all got a seat on J.Lo's yacht a head of us, in one way or another. Don't give up.
Ben Boskovich is a contributing editor to Esquire, and writes about style and golf. He previously served as Esquire's Deputy Editor, and the site's Managing Editor. Prior to joining Hearst Digital Media, he was the Social Media Editor at Entertainment Weekly.
