She got a big boaty: but will JLo ride it all the way to Mykonos?
Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck, having smooched aboard the megayacht Valerie, are pushing east: could Mykonos be the island booster Bennifer 2.0 needs?
Last summer American national treasure Jennifer Lopez hit the shores of Crete, Greece (when most of her fellow Yankees from the block were pointedly not hitting the shores of Crete) solo. And now, the sight of Ben Affleck locked in a steamy/clingy embrace with JLo aboard her big boaty Valerie, the ultimate banana cream pie-in-the-face to months of social distancing dictates, the Gaga meat dress of the age—si si, we’re calling it—as well as less of a shock than a sort of unexpected, low-carb Insta treat. But St-Tropez was probably just the start, because boaty be sailin’ east.
First it was Capri for the recoupled couple, obviously. Cliché, molto molto cliché, but we’re guessing Gigli star Affleck doesn’t know his, say, Ischia from his, say, pie hole and that’s cool, because dropping anchor in Caps is yet more evidence that the annual exodus of the American glitterati to Europe, which had slowed to a pathetic trickle last summer, is now in. full. swing. We’ve had A-Rod sightings in Portofino, Katy Perry splashing about Turkish shores with Bloom, Robert Downey Jr and wife Susan in waters Greek, Americanized Harry Styles frolicking in Porto Ercole, and of course that brings us to Mykonos, island of the winds and yachts on steroids and designer sunglass boutiques that come to you, literally. (Below, Nammos Beach Club…)
Now, we know that Tom Hanks has cultivated something of an annual cult-colony of one-percenters in otherwise lovely Antiparos, where Jeff “astronaut-lite” Bezo was seen earlier this summer along with CNN’s Anderson Cooper (remember him?) and pal Barry Diller. There were even reports in the Greek press of a fancy outing with said participants on the archaeologically sensitive islet of Despotiko, which is something that you and I can’t do, not that America is a class-based society or anything like that!
But Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck probably wouldn’t be having it even if they were invited to it. They are not one-percenters, nor fake royalty, but real Hollywood peeps and for those types (who actually do work) there are really only three choices in the Mediterranean this summer, after St-Tropez of course: Ibiza, Sardinia and Mykonos. Only last summer, J.Lo beat a retreat to Crete for a A-Rod-less girlfriends’ getaway, so we know that Greece is on her radar. With the recent mini-lockdown in Mykonos set to expire and more high-decibel fun soon to be had on shore, our bet is on that iconic Greek island for Bennifer’s next port-of-call. Just get a load of these power dinghies, spotted off the coast of Psarrou Beach…
Or these ones, circling like water vultures off the shore of the (overrated?) Scorpios Mykonos. Expect the tenders to be aplenty, waiting to take A-listers to Nammos Beach or emerging hot tables like Raw at The Wild by Interni. In this summer of the shunning of oversized cruise ships, power yachting is truly where it’s at, and having
set the world’s tongues wagging with their sizzling St-Tropez baiser, don’t be surprised to find Ben & Jen getting naughty & nautical any day now in Mykonos, which is still the Greek island par excellence and reigning queen of summer insouciance, in a matter of days, if not hours…countdown to maximum impact!
P.S. Need a place to stay in Mykonos? Ssh! Sayonara Super Paradise, we’re told Elia Beach—and the luxe hotels perched amphitheatrically above it—is the island’s new it-sandbox.
P.P.S. Jennifer Lopez also has a skincare line.