• June 21, 2004
• Vol. 61
• No. 24

Scoop

BEN'S NEW GIRLFRIEND

Ben Affleck hops back into the dating pool with TV-ad saleswoman Enza Sambataro, a low-key Boston-area native comfortable at the bowling alley and the ballpark

Shed no tears for Ben Affleck. Though former fiancée Jennifer Lopez stole the limelight last week with her surprise wedding to Marc Anthony (see p. 68), Affleck hasn't been exactly pining for companionship. He's recently begun dating another dark-haired beauty, Boston television ad-sales exec Enza Sambataro. Affleck, 31, met Sambataro, 26, at a charity bowling tournament on May 24. Since then, he and the 5'9" brunette, who's currently training for the Chicago Marathon, have practically been inseparable—snuggling at the ritzy Charles Hotel lounge in Cambridge, huddling in a private box at Fenway Park to watch Affleck's beloved Red Sox and dining at the Union Street Restaurant in Newton Centre, Mass., near where Sambataro lives. "They have fun together," says Sambataro's roommate Kelly Farrell. "They seem happy when they're hanging out."

Not surprisingly, dating one of Hollywood's most-watched stars isn't without its personal perils. Even the smallest details of Sambataro's past have become fodder for the media. On June 8 The Boston Globe reported on a minor run-in she had with the law some three years ago.

Still, the intense media scrutiny doesn't seem to have soured her on the relationship. Affleck even joined Sambataro and her family for the Memorial Day holiday at her parents' house at Lake Winnipesaukee in New Hampshire, where they caught a rerun of Saturday Night Live that Affleck had hosted. Since returning from the minivacation, though, Affleck has been in and out of a Boston hospital with a case of bronchitis, later nursing himself back to health at his mother's home in Cambridge. Sambataro planned to accompany Affleck on a trip to Los Angeles later in the week, says Ernie Boch Jr., an ad client. "I think she's appreciative of how down-to-earth he is," he adds.

"I guess this relationship [with Enza] is special because Ben's kept it pretty quiet," says a friend of Affleck's. "He was the same way with Jen."

BEN'S YOUR UNCLE
Meet Indiana August, son of actor Casey Affleck (Ben's brother) and actress Summer Joy Phoenix (Joaquin's sister). The newest member of the Affleck clan was born May 31 in Amsterdam, weighing 9 lbs. 3 oz.

POSTCARD FORM ITALY
LAKE COMO
JUNE 2004
George Clooney knows how to live la dolce vita. On June 6, during a break from filming Ocean's Twelve, he joined costars Brad Pitt and Matt Damon, along with Jennifer Aniston and Damon's girlfriend Luciana Baroso, for a ride across Italy's
Lake Como.

heart monitor

Britney's Beau's Brief Break
For the past six weeks, Britney Spears and her new boyfriend, dancer Kevin Federline, have been partying and canoodling nonstop through Europe. Now, apparently, it's time for a quick break. An insider tells Scoop that Federline will fly home to Los Angeles on June 19, so that he can spend Father's Day with his pregnant ex-girlfriend of four years, former Moesha actress Shar Jackson, and their 2-year-old daughter Kori. According to the source, Federline has continued to keep in touch with Jackson even as he traipses through Europe, often using Spears's assistant's cell phone to call. But there's no chance of Federline reconnecting with Jackson: He and Spears even got matching his-and-her dice tattoos recently. And Jackson tells friends that she's "done with Kevin," keeping in touch only for the sake of their daughter. The source also says that Spears is trying to get Federline a job as a videographer on a reality-TV project she's developing about her life. The couple won't have to stay apart long: Federline is planning on flying out of L.A. June 20 to rejoin Spears as she resumes her concert tour.

HALLE'S DIVORCE SNAG
Breaking up is hard to do, as Halle Berry is finding out. In April, Berry filed for divorce from husband Eric Benet, citing irreconcilable differences. On June 1 Benet filed court papers asking for spousal support, property division and reimbursement of legal fees. Benet also requested that the L.A. Superior Court "determine the validity" of their prenuptial agreement. Benet's lawyer Laura Westray says the 37-year-old musician is not seeking a big payout. "It's just a legal strategy" to keep his options open, she says. The couple married in January 2001. Berry's rep had no comment.

Engaged Quaid
Delete Dennis Quaid from the list of eligible bachelors. Famously single since his split with Meg Ryan in 2001, the 50-year-old actor recently got engaged to Texas socialite Kim Buffington, 32. The two met last March when a mutual friend, actor Todd Allen, set them up. "I arranged for us all to go out to dinner in downtown Austin," says Allen. "After that, their relationship just blossomed." Meaning: a trip to Africa last fall, frequent getaways to Quaid's Montana ranch and finally a proposal at their L.A. home. This will be Quaid's third marriage—he has a 12-year-old son with Ryan—and Buffington's first. As for a wedding date..."C'mon now," says Quaid with a grin. "Even if I knew the date, do you really think I'd tell?"

POP QUIZ

Nicole Kidman

In The Stepford Wives, Nicole Kidman, who turns 37 on June 20, plays a high-powered exec who tries to become a perfect housewife. She discussed her own domestic shortcomings—and a success or two—with Scoop.

How are you at chores around the house?

I like cooking. It actually relaxes me. I really enjoy being able to make things. Otherwise, forget it. I can't sew. I'm a very poor knitter. But I can wrap Christmas presents very well.

Your character starts out as a tough, power-obsessed executive. Any similarities?

No. I have a lot more insecurities, I think.

You once talked about leaving behind your career to get more family time.

I still haven't learned how to balance things. At some stage, I would love to have another child. I would love to settle into a relationship that's really important to me, and I am not good at balancing that. That's a big problem in society as well.

One theme in The Stepford Wives is that men are suspicious of powerful women. Is that true in your life?

I don't see myself as terribly powerful or successful. I see myself more as just absolutely loving what I do. I love to act. So with men...when you're passionate about what you do, how are you then passionate about someone in your life?

Who do you think would be the perfect man?

I don't want perfect. The discovery of someone, and the discovery of the things that someone else might find appalling but you think are really cute, is the fun thing. I don't even know what I'm looking for. I suppose it's a mystery, isn't it?

Have your children [Isabella, 11, and Connor, 9] expressed an interest in becoming actors?

My job is to try and give them their life. Once they're 16, if they say, "I want to be an actor," then fine. But up until that point, I'm the mother and what I say goes.

So what's life like now?

I read scripts. I don't go out a lot. I spend a lot of time with my kids and my sister and my parents when I'm not working.

ON THE BLOCK

KELLY'S CRIB
PRICE $3 million
PLACE Chicago, III.

SPECS Singer R. Kelly bought this 10,000-sq.-ft. converted church in '94 and sold it in '02. The current owner retained many of Kelly's personal touches, including murals from the Michael Jordan film Space Jam. The Lakeview, Chicago, home also features an indoor basketball court, a lap pool, digital theater and 1,600-gallon fish tank.

• Contributors:
• Greg Adkins,
• Marisa Wong,
• Jennifer Wren,
• Kelly Carter,
• Mark Dagostino,
• Anne Driscoll,
• Kathy Ehrich,
• Michael Fleeman,
• Todd Gold,
• Julie Jordan,
• Anne Lang,
• Ken Lee,
• Amy Longsdorf,
• Gail Nussbaum,
• Kelly Roberts.