Jennifer Lopez Wanted To Take Ben Affleck's Last Name In Marriage Years Before Wedding

Jennifer Lopez had always intended to take Ben Affleck's last name after marrying him, according to a resurfaced interview from 2003.

Lopez and Affleck surprised fans when they tied the knot in an intimate ceremony in Las Vegas over the weekend. The actress legally took her husband's last name following their nuptials, Entertainment Tonight reported.

The "Let's Get Loud" singer listed her last name after marriage as Affleck, according to the couple's wedding license application, which was filed with the Clark County clerk's office at 11:32 p.m. Saturday and was obtained by ET.

Lopez also signed off the most recent edition of her On the JLo newsletter, in which she shared details and photos from their wedding, by writing, "With love, Mrs. Jennifer Lynn Affleck."

Nearly two decades before their Vegas wedding, Lopez had shared her plans to take Affleck's last name while cooking with Pat O'Brien as part of "Ben & Jen: A Dateline Special," which was released during the couple's first engagement back in 2003.

The clip showed Lopez moving around the kitchen as O'Brien asked her, "A week after you're married, what will your name be?"

Lopez replied, "I think I'm going to stay with Jennifer Lopez, but my name will be Jennifer Affleck, obviously."

The two then ended up laughing when they discovered that taking Affleck's family name would make her nickname "J.Aff" instead of "J.Lo."

"It doesn't have quite the same ring to it, but you've gotta make sacrifices!" Lopez joked.

O'Brien approved of Lopez's plan and even assured her, "Jennifer Affleck's a good name."

The "Maid in Manhattan" actress agreed, saying, "It's not bad." She then rolled up her sleeves before cheekily adding, "I'll take it."

Lopez and Affleck first got engaged in November 2002 after meeting on the set of their movie "Gigli." They postponed their wedding in 2003, days before the set date, and eventually called off their engagement in 2004.

Around 17 years later, Affleck and Lopez reignited their romance in April 2021 after she called off her engagement to Alex Rodriguez.

Lopez announced in April that they were engaged and showed off her green diamond engagement ring. However, the couple never shared their wedding plans.

"They both are so comfortable with each other and make each other so happy, so they don't want to wait any longer," an unnamed source told Us Weekly of the couple's decision to exchange "I do's" in Sin City.

"They both thought it was a fun and casual way to tie the knot," the source added.