Jennifer Lopez & Ben Affleck's Real Estate Regret Is Turning Into a Reported Blame Battle
Just ahead of the Fourth of July holiday, Realtor.com revealed that the former duo took their $60 million Beverly Hills estate off the market after an earlier $8 million price reduction. Yep, they are going to lose a lot of money on this house. Spanning 38,000 square feet, the residence boasts 12 bedrooms and 24 bathrooms, plus all of the A-list amenities you could possibly imagine: boxing ring, sports lounge, movie theater. Lopez and Affleck thought it would be the perfect place for their blended family.
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Jennifer Lopez Quietly Echoes Jennifer Garner's Thoughts on Being Married to Ben Affleck
Now that they are divorced, the duo is reportedly blaming each other for the real estate nightmare, according to entertainment insider Rob Shuter. 'She never wanted the house. He did. Now she's stuck with it,' a source claimed to #ShuterScoop. 'Jen hated it from day one. It was all Ben's idea. She thought it was excessive—he thought it was private.'
Still, InTouch Weekly sources made contradictory allegations in March 2024. 'Ben was thinking more along the lines of $20 million for the house. But Jen overruled him,' they said. 'Their bills are through the roof. It's all eating away at their bank accounts… The pressure to make money keeps intensifying.'
The search for the perfect home took over a year, and they made their purchase in May 2023 to the tune of $60 million. According to documents obtained by The U.S. Sun in October 2023, they have a $20 million mortgage that's a '30-year home loan with JPMorgan Chase Bank' and it is interest only. They won't be paying off the principal until November 2033, but it's doubtful Lopez and Affleck want to hold onto the estate that long.
Whenever they do decide to put the mansion back on the market, it will still be a loss, instead of a profit-making venture, for both of them, according to Selling Sunset star and real estate agent Jason Oppenheimer. The property lines are in the city of Los Angeles, not Beverly Hills, which makes it subject to a hefty mansion tax.
'The house is located in the Beverly Hills post office area, which is technically in the city of Los Angeles (not the independent city of Beverly Hills), so the mansion tax applies,' he explained to Realtor.com. 'Therefore, they will have to pay a mansion tax of more than $3 million. So, they could lose more than an additional $5 million after commissions, taxes, etc.'
For now, Lopez is living in the home while her Hidden Hills estate is being renovated, and Affleck is residing in his Pacific Palisades residence. But the financial burden of the mega-mansion is a hefty reminder of their short-lived marriage.Best of SheKnows
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"A lot of what science-based interviewing is doing is telling [investigators] to treat people with respect and decency, whether it's a suspect or a victim," said Huskins. "It allows someone to open up. It allows you to connect with them, understand their background, all while having a conversation with the suspect. But also, it's about having someone else observe that conversation and try to back it up with facts and evidence, not having the primary goal be a confession." GET REAL-TIME UPDATES DIRECTLY ON THE TRUE CRIME HUB "A lot of times, I think the draw is to get that confession, because people know that confessions get convictions," she noted. "But also, people falsely confess. It's a serious problem, because not only are you ruining that person's life, but you are emboldening the perpetrator to attack again." On June 5, 2015, another couple woke in the middle of the night to a near-identical home invasion. After reaching out to police departments in the Bay Area, Misty Carausu, then a rookie detective, learned that Muller had been a suspect in a 2009 Palo Alto home invasion. Also at the scene were a pair of swimming goggles blacked out with duct tape that had blonde hair attached. While the wife hid in a bathroom and called police, her husband managed to fight off the attacker. But he left crucial evidence behind: zip-ties, duct tape, a glove and a cellphone. Carausu traced the phone to Muller's stepfather. She learned that Muller was a Harvard-educated immigration attorney and Marine veteran. Carausu contacted the FBI, and Muller was arrested. Evidence in his home, including Quinn's laptop, linked him to Huskins' kidnapping. He pleaded guilty to one count of federal kidnapping in September 2016 and was sentenced to 40 years behind bars. Muller also faced state charges for burglary, robbery, kidnapping and two counts of rape. According to the documentary, Muller was deemed incompetent to stand trial for those charges in 2020. He allegedly suffered from "Gulf War illness" after his military service, and his attorney claimed he was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. Muller was then sentenced in 2022 to 31 years in state prison after pleading no contest to two counts of forcible rape of Huskins. Huskins admitted it took time for her and Quinn, now her husband, to begin trusting police again after being accused of orchestrating a hoax. For years, the sound of a police siren left her feeling "terrified." "I think our whole worldview was just shattered," she reflected. "It was more victimizing, more traumatic, to be received and treated that way than the crime itself… We all know that there are bad people out there… But you grow up with the belief that if you call 911, if you go to police, they'll be helpful. And in our case, they made things worse. And what do you do if something happens? Who do you turn to for help?" "It's really a hopeless place," she added. Today, Quinn and Huskins hope to continue making a difference for victims. "When people message me, it's fuel," she said. "This is something we need to keep fighting for… A big piece of all of this, I think, for a lot of sexual assault survivors, but probably most victims and survivors of a violent crime, is that you lose your sense of self and identity. And then to be publicly shamed and have the world call you [names], you can get lost in self-blame and self-doubt." "Who I really am – the core of my being, my values, my worth – I wasn't going to let anyone dictate that," she added.
