Casey Affleck’s true and pretty mundane reason for missing Ben and J-Lo’s wedding

Casey Affleck was unable to fly to Georgia to attend the celebrity wedding of the decade — the marriage of his brother, Ben, to mega-star Jennifer Lopez — because it appears he had to take his 14-year-old son to soccer practice.

On Saturday, hours before Lopez, 53, walked down the aisle in custom Ralph Lauren wedding gown and exchanged I dos with Ben, 50, at his Georgia, riverfront estate, Casey Affleck, 47, was spotted in Los Angeles on a Starbucks run, TMZ reported.

With his hands full of beverages and looking uncomfortable, Casey Affleck clearly didn’t look like he was rushing to catch a plane to join Matt Damon and other famous friends at the wedding his older brother first looked forward to in 2003. Casey would only say he had “other things to do” instead of jumping in a plane and flying to Georgia, TMZ said.

Later, Casey Affleck’s people issued a statement to People, confirming he would miss the wedding “unfortunately because of family, parental obligations at home.”

Page Six on Monday zeroed in on the likely nature of those “family, parental obligations.” The information inadvertently came from a since-deleted comment made by Caylee Cowan, Casey Affleck’s girlfriend, on Casey Affleck’s Instagram tribute to the wedding of “Bennifer 2.0,” Page Six said, alluding to a youth soccer game.

The “Manchester by the Sea” Oscar winner wrote on Instagram Sunday: “Good things are worth waiting for. Here is to twists and turns, new beginnings, and finding new reservoirs of old love.”

In welcoming Lopez to the Affleck family, Casey also wrote: “Get ready for some real dysfunction! Kidding. I am kidding. Jen, you are a gem. We love you so much!”

To that, an apparently well-meaning Cowan referred to Casey Affleck’s son, Atticus, in writing: “Hey, if you weren’t in town Saturday to take Atty to soccer practice then who would’ve helped the kid who broke his arm?

“You’re a good man. I love you,” Cowan wrote. Casey Affleck shares two sons, Indiana, 18, and Atticus, 14, with his ex-wife, Summer Phoenix.

A representative for Casey Affleck didn’t immediately return Page Six’s request to clarify his whereabouts Saturday.

By staying in Los Angeles, Casey Affleck missed a three-day extravaganza at his brother’s $8 million estate outside Riceboro, Georgia. The “Good Will Hunting” actor and the “Hustlers” star, who wore a 20-foot veil, tied the knot Saturday in a tree-lined tent, surrounded by their combined five children, family and friends. Other guests included Damon and his wife, Luciana Barroso, “Clerks” director Kevin Smith, and top Hollywood agent Patrick Whitesell.

Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez host modern affair as wedding bash continues with brunch at $8M Georgia estate https://t.co/S9KxpcgGyS

— Fox News (@FoxNews) August 22, 2022

Images from Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez’s lavish wedding… Life really starts after 50! #Bennifer pic.twitter.com/DyOiSFQWIU

— TotalGossips (@MyTotalGossips) August 21, 2022

Officially, it was the couple’s second wedding. Lopez and Ben Affleck wed last month in a seemingly spontaneous, intimate ceremony at A Little White Wedding Chapel in Las Vegas. The couple originally dated from 2002 to 2004, becoming engaged, but they called off their scheduled 2003 wedding, blaming “excessive media attention” surrounding their relationship. They rekindled their romance last year and announced their engagement in April.