A look back at Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck’s second chance at love
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A look back at Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck’s second chance at love

Posted on by Edwin

Bennifer 2.0 has officially begun his final life.

After rekindling their early 2000s romance, Jennifer Lopez filed for divorce from Ben Affleck on August 20 — the second anniversary of their Georgia wedding. Their whirlwind reunion, which began with a simple email in early 2021, led to everything from romantic getaways to a high-profile engagement and not one but two wedding ceremonies.

While it initially seemed like a fairytale comeback, sources previously told Yahoo Entertainment that the couple’s differing career ambitions and growing privacy concerns began to strain the relationship earlier this year, particularly because Lopez’s Affleck-inspired projects reportedly made him uncomfortable.

As short-lived as their whirlwind love story was, it captivated the public and reminded everyone that even the most glamorous couples face challenges in life.

“It’s sad, but it’s for the best,” a source who knows both Affleck and Lopez recently told Yahoo. “They’re just different people at their core, but there’s been a lot of love between them over the years.”

Here’s a look back at Bennifer 2.0 – from reuniting via email to officially filing for divorce.

The couple reconnected when Affleck emailed Lopez shortly after she broke off her engagement to Alex Rodriguez in April 2021. He reportedly told her that he had written a glowing review to a magazine that had asked him to write an op-ed about her for a profile.

Affleck had just split from Ana de Armas at the time, and soon after, Lopez and Affleck were seen traveling together to each other’s homes.

The couple were spotted together for several days during a private trip to Montana. It became clear that a new romance was blossoming.

“Of course, we didn’t try to go public,” Lopez told Vogue about that time in a December 2022 cover story. “But I never hid the fact that for me, I always felt there was a real love, a true love.”

It was later reported that they were officially back together and that Lopez was “very excited about how things are going with Ben.”

Lopez moved from Miami to Los Angeles in hopes of making a “fresh start” with Affleck. At the time, a source told E! that Lopez planned to commute between LA and the Hamptons in New York over the summer, and that LA would be “her base” while she began looking for schools for her children in the fall.

The couple became Instagram official after Lopez’s girlfriend Leah Remini posted a clip with a photo of the two from her birthday party, which took place in June.

“They’re head over heels in love again,” an insider told Yahoo Entertainment at the time. “If it was just a fling, they wouldn’t be spending so much time with the kids.”

The couple had their first red carpet at the Venice Film Festival for the premiere of The last duel, which Affleck co-wrote with Matt Damon. It had been nearly two decades since Affleck and Lopez had walked a red carpet together – in 2003 for their film Gigli.

Weeks later, Affleck and Lopez walked the Met Gala red carpet together. A source later told Us Weekly that it was “a wonderful experience for both of them to officially walk the red carpet.”

In an interview with Rolling StoneLopez admitted that they had no plans to split up anytime soon.

“I don’t think we would have gotten back together if we thought it would come down to this,” she said. “We feel like what we’ve found again is so much more important, and how we protect that and how we live our lives – what we share, what we don’t share – is the balance we have now, the benefit of the experience and the wisdom we’ve gained over the years.”

April 2022: They are engaged – again

The singer hinted on social media that she had an “important announcement” planned for her next newsletter. On the JLoThere she revealed a huge engagement ring.

She later revealed that Affleck proposed to her in the bathtub. “It was nothing special at all, but it was the most romantic thing I could have ever imagined,” she wrote in the newsletter.

The couple surprised their fans with an impromptu wedding in Las Vegas. She later revealed that they eloped due to “PTSD” from their failed wedding in 2003.

August 2022: They married – again – in Georgia

After the civil ceremony in Las Vegas, the couple held a larger celebration at Affleck’s estate in Georgia, where they reportedly planned to marry over 20 years ago before they first split. Lopez decided to take Affleck’s last name.

During an appearance on Today, Lopez spoke about the children moving into the couple’s new home in LA, describing the experience as an “emotional transition.”

“It’s just been a phenomenal year, the best year, I think, since my children were born,” she said at the time.

Shortly after Affleck caused a stir at the Grammy Awards with his “unfortunate” appearance, the two presented matching tattoos on their first Valentine’s Day as a married couple: two Cupid’s arrows with the initials of their names: “J” and “B”.

On February 16, Lopez released her new album, This is me … now, which she said was inspired by her new romance with Affleck. She also released a musical film version, This is me… now: A love story, and a documentary, The greatest love story never told, which documented her new romance with Affleck.

“People know the story of me and Ben, but that’s not the story I want to tell,” she told Yahoo Entertainment ahead of the album’s release. “What I love more about myself today than the person I was maybe 20 years ago is that I can really evolve and grow and know that I’m not where I’m going to be in two, five, or 10 years. It’s actually going to get better. That’s really the exciting part.”

The couple separated privately, according to Lopez’s divorce document, which lists April 26 as the official date of separation, Variety confirmed.

After a series of high-profile solo appearances, the media began to speculate that the couple was on the rocks. Affleck was conspicuously absent from the red carpet at the premiere of Lopez’s new film on May 20. Atlaswhere she reportedly dismissed questions about the breakup rumors.

Later that month, Lopez announced that she was This is me … live Tour and wrote in her newsletter that she was “completely heartbroken and devastated” by the decision, but called it “absolutely necessary.”

It was reported that Affleck quietly moved out of their shared home while Lopez went on vacation with friends in Italy without him.

July 2024: A new place – without each other

According to People, Affleck moved out of the couple’s home and closed escrow on a new $20.5 million Los Angeles home on the same day Lopez completed the sale of her New York City condo, which had reportedly been on the market for seven years.

Meanwhile, the couple publicly ignored major milestones on opposite coasts – including the singer Bridgerton-themed birthday that took place in the Hamptons while Affleck was in LA. In a video, Lopez sang, “Happy Days Are Here Again.”

Shortly after Affleck hosted a “small” party for his 52nd birthday on August 15, it was announced on August 20 that Lopez had filed for divorce from Affleck, exactly two years after their wedding ceremony in Georgia.

Jennifer Lopez

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