The rumors are indeed true: Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez have parted ways once more.
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| Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck attend the Eastern Congo Initiative Poker and Blackjack Tournament hosted by TAO Group Hospitality at Lavo Restaurant & Nightclub at the Palazzo at the Venetian Resort Las Vegas on Nov. 17, 2023. Mindy Small/Getty Images |
One of Hollywood's most iconic A-list couples has called it quits again, with Lopez officially filing for divorce on Tuesday at the L.A. County Superior Court. According to People, Lopez cited April 26, 2024, as the date of their separation, even though the filing took place today, on August 20, which marks the second anniversary of their grand wedding in Georgia.
This extravagant event followed a swift Las Vegas elopement in July 2022. Morfeli Reporter has reached out to representatives for both Affleck and Lopez and will provide updates if any are available, though no official statements are anticipated, as both have remained silent in recent months about their relationship status. TMZ was the first to break the news.
The news follows a whirlwind of tabloid headlines and TMZ updates that chronicled the sale of their $65 million mansion, separate appearances (with and without wedding rings), and endless speculation about the tension in one of the most high-profile relationships in modern celebrity culture.
In retrospect, the signs were evident. Tabloid reports highlighted Lopez’s solo summer escape to the Hamptons (after an earlier trip to Italy), while Affleck stayed in Los Angeles, where he reportedly moved his belongings out of their shared residence and into a Brentwood rental.
Lopez attended the premiere of her Netflix film Atlas alone, much like her other major appearance in May when she attended the Met Gala without a plus-one, despite it being a renowned event for Hollywood couples. During her time in the Hamptons, she also celebrated her 55th birthday with a Bridgerton-themed party, and Affleck was noticeably absent.
Affleck, 51, and Lopez, 54, rekindled their romance in April 2021, following Lopez’s split from baseball star Alex Rodriguez and Affleck’s separation from his former co-star Ana de Armas. A year later, Affleck proposed while Lopez was enjoying a bubble bath. They held an intimate ceremony in Las Vegas in July 2022, followed by a grander, more traditional wedding a month later at Affleck’s Georgia estate.
The event was officiated by life coach and podcaster Jay Shetty and featured in Vogue. The bride wore a custom Ralph Lauren gown, and guests included family and friends such as Matt Damon, filmmaker Kevin Smith, and Affleck’s longtime agent, WME’s Patrick Whitesell.
They merged their families, with Affleck entering the marriage with three children from his previous long-term marriage to actress Jennifer Garner, while Lopez brought twins from her marriage to music star Marc Anthony.
Over the past two years, the couple made numerous high-profile appearances at film premieres and award shows like the Grammys. These events sparked headlines, from Affleck’s infamous "resting grumpy face" to rumors of red carpet disputes, yet they consistently assured everyone that their rekindled romance was intact.
This year brought another wave of media attention as Lopez launched a series of back-to-back projects, including an album (This Is Me … Now), a musical film featuring tracks from the album (also titled This Is Me … Now), and a documentary about the making of the musical (The Greatest Love Story Never Told). Their romance was showcased as the ultimate fairy tale that had finally come true. Lopez frequently credited Affleck as the inspiration behind these works and discussed him at length in multiple interviews.
"Now I feel like because Ben and I have rediscovered each other — and now that we’re married — I have something to offer. This is the defining piece of work that’s going to close that chapter so I can move on to the next part of my life," she shared with Variety. In a different interview, she admitted that Affleck wasn’t entirely "comfortable" with the flurry of projects.
"But he loves me, he knows I’m an artist, and he’s gonna support me in every way he can, because he knows you can’t stop me from making the music I made… he doesn’t want to stop me. But that doesn’t mean he’s comfortable being the muse."
He admitted that navigating a public relationship wasn’t easy for him. "When we got back together, I said, 'One of the things I don't want is a relationship on social media.' But then I realized it wasn’t fair to ask that. It’s like marrying a boat captain and saying, 'I don’t like the water.'"
However, it seems that having their relationship be the focus of an album and constant media attention added some strain. "Things that are private, I always believed, are sacred and special because they’re private. So this took some adjustment for me," he said.
The Bennifer story began in 2001 when Affleck and Lopez met while filming the romantic dramedy Gigli, directed by Martin Brest. Released two years later, the film flopped at the box office and became infamous.
Their relationship, though, thrived, and they got engaged in 2002 when Affleck proposed with a 6.1-carat Harry Winston diamond. That same year, Affleck also made a cameo in Lopez’s "Jenny From the Block" music video, a hit from her This Is Me … Then album.
"I think what happened is, as we worked together [on the movie Gigli], we became such good friends," Lopez previously shared with Zane Lowe in an interview. "We realized we were crazy about each other. I found myself thinking about him after the movie wrapped, even though I was sorting out my own life because I was coming out of a relationship at that time. But you just knew. It’s like, ‘This is the person I want to be with.’ And that realization unfolded over months. It wasn’t instant because we couldn’t act on it. It just grew over time."
But their relationship never made it to the altar. The couple split just days before their lavish wedding. "Ben and I broke up four days before our wedding, and we had a big plan, with 14 ushers and bridesmaids.
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| Affleck and Lopez heading to the LACMA Art+Film gala. Michael Kovac/Getty Images for LACMA |
But three days before, we just crumbled under the pressure," Lopez once revealed about the heartache that took time to heal. "For years, it was incredibly hard because I didn’t just lose the love of my life, I lost the best friend I ever had. I couldn’t speak about it for so long, and that was the hardest part."
Lopez was previously married to Ojani Noa (1997-98), Cris Judd (2001-03), and Marc Anthony (2004-14), and was engaged to Rodriguez during a four-year relationship. Affleck was married to Garner (2005-18).
While Bennifer may have reached its end, in Hollywood, there's always room for a new chapter. "Sometimes it doesn’t work — and that’s sad," Lopez shared in a 2011 interview with Vanity Fair. "But I remain an eternal optimist about love. I believe in love. It’s still my biggest dream."
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