Divorce
Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck go their separate ways
Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck were engaged 20 years ago, but the wedding was called off. They finally married two years ago – but now they are separating. Lopez is getting a divorce.
The “Bennifer” love story has been plagued by misfortune. Even in their second attempt, there is no long-lasting happiness for US singer Jennifer Lopez and US actor Ben Affleck. Lopez (55) is divorcing Affleck (52) after two years of marriage.
According to consistent media reports, she filed for divorce on Tuesday (local time) at the court in Los Angeles. Lopez states April 26 as the date of separation, according to documents reported by “Variety” and “TMZ.com.”
Here they were still happy. Now the love story between Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck is over.
Lopez is drawing the line on a day that holds special significance for the couple. Exactly two years ago, on August 20, 2022, they held a grand wedding celebration at Affleck’s estate in the US state of Georgia. At that time, Lopez posted photos from her “big day,” a dream wedding with a white veil, designer wedding dresses, and fireworks.
Just a month prior, they had made it official at a small wedding chapel in the casino city of Las Vegas, Nevada. They managed to reach the Little White Wedding Chapel just before midnight, Lopez posted alongside photos, videos, and a detailed description of their “best possible wedding” on her social media – signed with the name Jennifer Lynn Affleck.
Already the second breakup
Over 20 years ago, they were a couple, but it didn’t last long. The “Bennifer” romance lasted 18 months before they broke off their first engagement in January 2004. They filmed two movies together back then – “Gigli” and “Jersey Girl” – both of which flopped at the box office. They were constantly in the limelight and chased by the tabloid media.
Before her first relationship with Affleck, Lopez had already been married twice – from 1997 to 1998 to waiter Ojani Noa and from 2001 to 2003 to dancer Cris Judd. Shortly after the “Bennifer” breakup, she married singer Marc Anthony in 2004, and that lasted ten years. They are parents to twins Emme and Max. Affleck was married to actress Jennifer Garner from 2005 to 2018, and they have three children.
Lopez proudly shared her second engagement with Affleck in April 2022 with her fans. His proposal was “not at all fancy,” but “the most romantic thing I could ever have imagined,” Lopez wrote at that time in her newsletter “On the JLo.” “Saturday night, as I was at my favorite place in the world (in the bubble bath), my love got down on one knee and proposed to me. I was completely taken by surprise, looked into his eyes smiling and crying at the same time, and tried to understand that this was happening again after 20 years.” Of course, she said yes.
Negative headlines piled up
After their quick wedding in Las Vegas, things seemed to be going well on the outside for a long time. Last February, the Latina singer presented her ninth studio album “This Is Me … Now” (“That’s Me … Now”) with 13 songs that almost exclusively deal with her love for Affleck. Additionally, she released the film “This Is Me… Now: A Love Story,” a portrait of her life and career.
However, in recent months, negative headlines have piled up. At the end of May, Lopez canceled her planned US tour for the summer, citing the need for “some time out to be with her children, her family, and close friends,” according to a newsletter from the musician.
Lopez went on a promotional tour for her new film “Atlas” solo and celebrated her 55th birthday in July – without Affleck – in the Hamptons near New York, as US media reported. The actor and director was meanwhile filming in California. Their shared luxury villa in Beverly Hills is up for sale, and Affleck has purchased his own house, reported the magazine “People” in July.