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Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck’s decades-long love story has come to a heartbreaking end yet again. The couple have one of the most interesting tales of love and loss in Hollywood, as their romantic timeline could be straight out of one of their romantic comedy movies. Sadly, the reality is that the couple have officially called it quits as JLo filed for divorce from Ben on Tuesday, August 20.
Fans first became captivated by Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck in the early 2000s. The couple met on the set of their film Gigli in 2021, per Harper’s Bazaar. At the time, JLo was still married to her second husband, Cris Judd, whom she divorced a short time later. Ben and Jen began dating, and were dubbed “Bennifer” by the media. Their romance was one of the most talked-about pairings of its time, and it was no surprise when the pair announced their engagement in 2002.
Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck Called Off Their 2003 Wedding
Affleck proposed with a 6.1-carat pink diamond ring that reportedly cost about $2.5 million. However, their romance didn’t last. Just days before their 2003 wedding, the couple announced that they had called off the nuptials due to “excessive media attention.” Just weeks later, Lopez and Affleck confirmed that they had split.
Ben and Jen both moved on with their lives. Lopez went on to marry singer Marc Anthony and welcomed twins Max and Emme. For his part, Affleck wed actress Jennifer Garner, whom he fathered three children with, Violet, Fin, and Samuel.
Of course, life had its ups and downs for both JLo and Ben. In 2021, they both found themselves single after divorces and other failed attempts at romance. In April of that year, the Batman star was photographed visiting his ex-fiancee’s home (via Page Six).
Bennifer Reunited in 2021 and Got Engaged One Year Later
Just one year later, in April 2022, Ben Affleck popped the question to Jennifer Lopez yet again. This time, he gave her a green emerald-cut diamond when she accepted his proposal. The couple wasted little time planning their nuptials and in July 2022 they officially tied the knot in a surprise Las Vegas wedding.
The following month, Affleck and Lopez held a second wedding ceremony in Georgia. The pair blended their families and were spotted spending plenty of time together as a unit. Ben and Jen seemed more loved up than ever. JLo even admitted that her reunion with Affleck inspired her to write the album This Is Me…Now.
“When he came back into my life, again the same thing happened where I felt so inspired and so overtaken with emotion that it was just pouring out of me. When I feel good, I write music. And I wrote music and I got in the studio in I think May, and by August when we got married, it was done,” Lopez said during an Apple Music interview.
However, not everything came easy to Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck. The singer admitted that it was tough to raise five children, who were mostly teenagers at the time.
“The teenage years are tough. They start challenging you and everything. You have this baby for a while and then it’s like your best little friend who loves being with you all the time, and all of a sudden they’re like, ‘Get out of my room,’ ” JLo admitted of her family dynamic during an interview on Live! With Kelly and Mark.
In early 2024, JLo released her This Is Me…Now movie, which was like a love letter about the couple’s life together. “I had a broken heart once I lost the love of my life, my best friend, and I couldn’t talk for so many years, and that was the hardest part,” the singer admitted in her Amazon Prime documentary, per Yahoo.
Ben and JLo Spent Summer 2024 Apart Amid Divorce Rumors
However, Lopez’s words of love for Affleck hung heavy just months later in May 2024, when the couple were said to be on the rocks. Reports suggested that “Bennifer” were living separately and headed for divorce. When summer finally rolled around, the two went their separate ways. JLo jetted off to Italy before spending weeks in New York. Meanwhile, Affleck stayed back in Los Angeles.
During that time, the couple completely ignored their second wedding anniversary. They didn’t speak of it on social media, nor did they acknowledge each other’s birthdays in a public way.
Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck Publicly Ignored Each Other’s Birthdays and Wedding Anniversary
On JLo’s birthday, Affleck made headlines for purchasing his own bachelor pad. Meanwhile, on her estranged husband’s special day, Lopez was photographed solo at a concert.
Jennifer Lopez took it upon herself to file for divorce on the second anniversary of the couple’s Georgia wedding, bringing her relationship with Ben Affleck full circle. It’s unclear what the future holds for the pair. However, for now, it looks like the end of another “Bennifer” era.
