Posted Jan. 8, 2009

If Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony were hoping to quiet persistent talk of marital trouble with their holiday getaway to Puerto Rico, they're probably feeling pretty darn disappointed right about now.

A wedding ring-less J.Lo gives a good pout at the Los Angeles premiere of "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" in December. (©Retna Ltd.)

In an ominous development, usually celebrity-friendly outlet People confirms that the parents of 10-month-old twins Max and Emme have suffered a setback in their 4-year union, citing "growing pains" from raising their double bundles, who earned their folks a reported $6 million by posing for a shamelessly ostentatious spread in the magazine a month after their Feb. 22 arrival.

"The marriage is experiencing frustrations because of the added stress of the twins," says an insider, before reassuringly stating, "But they will work things out. They love each other, and that will dictate what happens. I don't think divorce is in the picture."

Seconds a sweeping generalization-making mole, "They have been having problems, like in any marriage. They've been arguing."

As expected, reps for the couple, who have three former spouses between them (two for her; one for him), insist everything is "great."

Last month, Us reported the pair's relationship was at a "breaking point," while the New York Daily News recently claimed that they're planning to call it quits shortly after a "bittersweet farewell" duet at Anthony's Valentine's Day concert at Madison Square Garden.

Marc and J.Lo attend the inauguration of Puerto Rico's governor on Jan. 2. (©Reuters)

Still, J.Lo and Marc did their best to put on a public show of togetherness at the Jan. 2 inauguration ceremony for Puerto Rico Gov. Luis Fortuno, posing and smiling for the cameras and making sure to flash their wedding rings, which briefly went missing last month.

But Us Weekly says tempers flared a couple nights before, as they rang in the new year with a "stormy fight" at the La Concha Hotel.

"They came in looking really irritated," a bystander tells the mag, which has now labeled the duo "on the brink." "It seemed like he said something rude to her and she got upset."

Adds a confidant, "It's really been a rough patch. Things are OK, but there are major problems."

The magazine also analyzes their recent interactions with the help of a body language expert, who posits that Anthony's arm around Lopez at the inauguration ceremony seems "territorial," while she appears "completely empty -- you can see sadness in her eyes."

Not to be outdone, In Touch taps a body language authority of its own, who deems Jennifer's face at the event "devoid of any expression" (and not because of the all-too-typical Hollywood reason of a noggin full of botulism).

Matthew holds on to Sarah Jessica at the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights gala last November. (©Retna Ltd.)

Meanwhile, in other rift rumor news, Star remains convinced that Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick are on a one-way, nonrefundable trip to Splitsville.

"Sarah Jessica moving out!" screams the latest cover of the tab, which last summer accused the actor of having a wandering eye.

Even though the longtime twosome stepped out together with flowing-locked son James Wilkie, 6, over the weekend for the final Broadway performance of "Hairspray," Star alleges that SJP is on the hunt for a New York pad of her own as part of her so-called "exit strategy."

"The time has come when she realizes it just isn't worth it," maintains a snitch. "Sarah Jessica is determined to get her own place and bring down the curtain on her marriage."

Pipes in another source, "Sarah's not stupid. She knows exactly what's going on. For a while, it was easier for her to stay than go through a harsh divorce. They're essentially living separate lives."

Not so, insists Broderick's rep, who declares to the Chicago Sun-Times, "It's all nonsense and completely untrue."