Yellowstone‘s power couple, Rip Wheeler and Beth Dutton, have newly minted fans in their corner, and they come in the form of another Hollywood power couple. Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez are the latest in a slew of pop culture fanatics who have been swept in by the romance and sultry nature that is Rip and Beth, and there’s something extraordinary about Affleck sharing their love for the Dutton realm.
Speaking to long-time friend and co-star Matt Damon on The Bill Simmons Podcast, Affleck says that Yellowstone‘s power couple has put his wife under their spell, and we have to say, we get it. Since the first time we saw Rip and Beth together, we were mesmerized — much like how another power couple (we’re looking at you, Bennifer) made us feel.
“I’m kind of disturbed that my wife really likes Yellowstone. Part of me thinks that she’s really drawn to the romance between Cole Hauser and Kelly Reilly.”
Who isn’t into the romance between Hauser and Reilly? Their bond is absolutely electric, full of magic, chaos, brilliance, heartache, sex appeal and vulnerability — it’s everything. Affleck said that Lopez first showed him the magic of Yellowstone via a clip she saw on Instagram with Beth and Carter (the kid) in a car.
“Jen showed me a clip of her off of Instagram, the monologue she has with the kid in the car about the ways to become rich, and then she was like, ‘I love this story of these two.’ I was like, ‘Wait a minute? With Hauser? With Cole Hauser? What do you love about it?'”
Of course, Affleck and Damon met the brawn and broody cowboy while working on School Ties in the early 1990s, and they were all just starting out in the business. So when Affleck says he’s a bit “disturbed” that Lopez likes Yellowstone so much, especially the romance between Rip and Beth, it’s likely a double whammy. Yellowstone is intense, and Affleck knew Hauser in a different lifetime — it’s funny to see those worlds colliding again.
Affleck finished by saying that Hauser is doing such a great job as Wheeler it almost feels like the world believes it’s truly him — that Hauser has somehow morphed into the heroic, lawbreaking, and often sultry cowboy, and he’s got that right too. Of course, we know Hauser is his own man, a talented one at that. Still, something about him feels like Wheeler was woven into his DNA for the entirety of his life, as if everything he experienced put him on the path to be here — to wear this mantle, to become this character.
It also seems that the romance between Rip and Beth was written in the stars, with some larger-than-life force pulling Hauser and Reilly to these roles. No one else could breathe life into the characters with as much passion, intensity, and dedication as they have. It’s the kind of love story that almost seems Shakespearean, like it’s something we’re all privileged to witness, and we can’t wait to see what’s in store for our favorite on-screen pair next — and we’re not the only ones. We can imagine Bennifer having themed Yellowstone nights, anxiously awaiting new episodes when they air later this year.
Here’s to Rip and Beth, Ben and Jen, and all of us who love both pairings. Both are iconic on-screen and off.
