Ben Affleck is newly single — but is he already mingling?
It’s been nearly one week since Jennifer Lopez filed for divorce, and the 52-year-old Hollywood heartthrob has reportedly been “hanging out” with a new lady.
While J.Lo is demanding a judge restore her maiden name and that Affleck isn’t awarded spousal support, the “Argo” star has reportedly been spending time with Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s 36-year-old daughter, Kathleen “Kick” Kennedy.
Over the weekend, sources told Page Six that the Oscar winner and the model had been spotted at the same hotspots, including the Polo Lounge at the Beverly Hills Hotel.
“Kick and Ben have been spending time together, but I’m not sure what’s happening,” one insider told People.
Other reports have claimed the two crossed paths, but there’s nothing romantic about them.
“I don’t think they even know each other. There’s definitely nothing going on,” a second source shared with People on Monday.
Insiders told TMZ that Affleck and Kick are friends, adding that she thinks highly of the actor and nothing is going on between them.
Here’s everything to know about the woman Affleck’s been “spending time” with post-divorce.
Kick belongs to a famous family:
Kick is former Presidential hopeful Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s eldest daughter. She was the second born after her brother, Robert “Bobby” Kennedy III, in 1988 to her famous dad and his first wife, Emily Ruth Black, before their split in 1994.
Kick was lovingly named after her great-aunt, Kathleen “Kick” Agnes Kennedy, who was the sister of late President John F. Kennedy.
Kick has four other siblings besides Bobby: Conor Kennedy, Kyra Kennedy, Aidan Kennedy and William “Finn” Kennedy, whom her father welcomed with his second wife, Mary Richardson, before their 2010 split and her suicide in 2012.
She’s “always” had a crush on Ben:
Several sources told People that “Kick’s celeb crush has always been Ben,” claiming they are getting to know each other and run “in the same scene.”
Another insider denied those claims, adding that while Kick is a “partier” who “likes to have a good time,” there’s nothing romantic between her and the “Batman” actor.
She was linked to Paul Simon’s son:
Before being connected to Affleck, Kick dated Paul Simon and Peggy Harper’s son, musician Harper Simon, 51. They were serious enough for her to introduce him to her grandmother, the late Ethel Kennedy.
“Harper came to the Cape,” she shared with The Post in 2014. “He’s a very charming guy, and he sang for my grandmother, which she loved — and then he was ordered to sing every night after that, which he didn’t love. My grandmother likes performance and music, and she sometimes demands it. And you can’t really say no to Ethel, so I made sure he brought his guitar.”
She went to Stanford University:
What? Like it’s hard? Kick went to Stanford University, where she majored in history and studied theater.
Kick appeared in “Gossip Girl” and “The Newsroom”:
Kick has starred in cult classic shows, landing minor appearances in “Gossip Girl” and “The Newsroom” before scoring a part on “Curb Your Enthusiasm” with her father’s then-girlfriend, actress Cheryl Hines, who later became her stepmom.
She shared her love for the art in 2012, telling Town & Country, “I was born with a sticker — a name — that has made me totally uninterested in the fame factor of success.
“I see all my actor friends really going for it in that way because it’s such a big part of the job, but it kind of turns me off. I’m frightened of it, or at least uninterested, unamused.”
Her half-brother dated Taylor Swift:
Kick has kicked it with Taylor Swift. In fact, half-brother, Conor Kennedy, 30, briefly dated the “I Can Do It With a Broken Heart” singer, 34, in 2012.
“Yeah, she’s really sweet,” she told The Post in 2014, revealing Swift came to the family’s compound.
“It was a moment, really,” Kirk continued. “But we always have exciting things going on — exciting people to meet.”
Kick’s billionaire boyfriend died when they were dating:
Kick had reportedly been dating banking heir Matthew Mellon for four months before his 2018 death. Mellon passed away while traveling to a drug rehabilitation facility in Cancun, Mexico.
“She is heartbroken, shocked, she didn’t see this coming,” her modeling manager, Christine Schott, told People at the time. “She is devastated and will not be making comment.”
She said her dad beheaded a whale with a chainsaw:
During her 2012 interview with Town & Country, Kick claimed her famous father decapitated a whale who had washed ashore during a family vacation near Hyannis Port, Mass. She alleged RFK Jr. removed the head with a chainsaw and strapped the whale’s head to the family minivan.
“Every time we accelerated on the highway, whale juice would pour into the windows of the car, and it was the rankest thing on the planet,” she told the magazine.
“We all had plastic bags over our heads with mouth holes cut out, and people on the highway were giving us the finger, but that was just normal day-to-day stuff for us.”
