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Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck were one of the most iconic celebrity couples. Nearly two decades after first making headlines and earning the nickname “Bennifer,” the have made it official by getting married in Las Vegas followed by a celebration at Ben’s Riceboro, Georgia estate with friends and family in August 2022. But their love didn’t last forever, as Jennifer filed for divorce from Ben in August 2024. Find out everything you need to know about Bennifer from their first romance to their eventual breakup below.
How Did Ben & J.Lo get together?
Ben and Jennifer’s romance started while they were both working on the movie Gigli in 2002. While the 2003 romcom was far from a hit, it did lead to the leads striking up a romance on-set, which led to the couple making their debut in 2002. “We met at a couple of parties. We barely paid any attention to each other,” Jennifer said during a 2003 Dateline interview for the movie. “We became friends first.”
Gigli wasn’t the only movie that the couple made together! The pair also co-starred in the 2004 movie Jersey Girl, which was another box office flop. The movie didn’t come out until March 2004, a few months after the pair had officially split up.
Their First Engagement
During Bennifer’s first time as a couple, they were instant media darlings! They got engaged in late 2002, with Ben popping the question with a PINK ring, worth a reported $2.5 million. Their relationship continued to be a major public interest, with the pair regularly appearing in tabloids. Ben was featured in J.Lo’s video for “Jenny From The Block,” and her This Is Me…Then record featured a number of songs inspired by her fiancé, including “Dear Ben.”
The Breakup
As the pair were preparing to tie the knot in September 2003, they decided to put the wedding on hold. “Due to the excessive media attention surrounding our wedding, we have decided to postpone the date,” the pair told People in a joint statement. The couple officially split a few months later in January 2004.
Marriages & Relationships
After their split, Ben and Jennifer both moved on to different relationships. Both of their marriages after they called off their engagement would be long-lasting for both of the stars! J.Lo married Marc Anthony in June 2004. Jennifer and Marc had twins Max and Emme, both 14, in 2008. The “I’m Real” singer ended up splitting from Marc in 2014. Ben started dating Jennifer Garner in August 2004, and the pair got hitched in 2005. They share three kids: Violet, 16, Seraphina, 13, and Samuel, 10. Ben and the 13 Going On 30 star ended up splitting up in 2018.
After Ben and his wife split up, he had a handful of short-lived romances with producer Lindsay Shookus, model Shauna Sexton and actress Ana de Armas. J.Lo also had a pair of relationships after her split from Marc. She had an on-and-off romance with her backup dancer Casper Smart, and she even got engaged to MLB star Alex Rodriguez, but the pair never made it to the alter!
Even though Ben and J.Lo’s relationship didn’t work out the first time, they did stay friends. “I keep in touch periodically with her and have a lot of respect for her. How awesome is it that she had her biggest hit movie at 50? That’s f**king baller,” he said in a 2020 New York Times profile. The exes staying friends could’ve been what led to their eventual reunion!
Rekindling Their Spark
Nearly two decades after calling off their engagement, Ben and J.Lo started spending a lot of time together in April 2021. The pair were first seen shortly after the Hustlers star split up from A-Rod, and fans immediately started to wonder whether the couple had gotten back together all this time later!
After a few months of romantic outings and getaways, the pair’s romance was first confirmed when photos of the couple kissing were snapped in June 2021. The pair went Instagram official in July, when Jennifer posted a steamy photo of them making out during her 52nd birthday celebrations. The pair showed that they’re back and better than ever by re-creating some of their most iconic moments from their first time together during the party, including partying to “Jenny From The Block,” and Ben even grabbed his girlfriend’s butt, just like the video!
The couple’s reunion gave fans plenty of super cute moments (like J.Lo wearing a “Ben” necklace during her birthday vacay) and romantic outings (with lots of PDA) to enjoy, but obviously, things were a little bit different this time around, now that the two stars are older and have families of their own. The pair have been blending their families and spending time with each other’s kids throughout their rekindled love! After getting engaged, Jennifer spoke about her desire to “build” a family with Ben in a June interview with Good Morning America.
With Bennifer 2.0 in full effect, the pair have also raved about each other and their re-found love in interviews. The Gone Girl star gave an amazing tribute to his future fiancé in his first interview where he mentioned her in an interview with Adweek. “All I can tell you is that I have seen firsthand the difference representation makes because I have seen, over and over and over and over, women of color approach Jennifer and tell her what her example as a strong woman and a woman succeeding and demanding her fair share in the business world means to them,” he said. “I am in awe of what Jennifer’s effect on the world is.” Jennifer called their second time dating a “beautiful love story” in a February 2022 interview with People.
Engagement
About a year after getting back together, the couple decided to give their engagement a second chance! The “Let’s Get Loud” popstar revealed that Ben had popped the question with a green, diamond engagement ring, worth an estimated $5 million, in April 2022. While it’s not clear when Bennifer will officially become husband and wife, a source close to the couple revealed to HollywoodLife exclusively that they plan to go all out for the ceremony. “Ben and Jen want to have an elaborate and grand wedding and no expenses will be spared,” they said. “Even if they were to make it private, between their families and their children, it would be a huge wedding whether they wanted to or not.”
Besides getting engaged, Ben and J.Lo have been taking other huge steps in their relationship, and their future as husband and wife. The pair have been seen house-hunting together, and it seems like they’re excited to start living with one another. There were even moving trucks seen outside of Ben’s Los Angeles home in early June 2022.
Getting Hitched In Vegas
According to the marriage license obtained by HollywoodLife (above), the iconic couple made it official in Clark County, NV on Saturday, July 16. Jen later spilled the tea on the last-minute affair, revealing she wore a “dress from an old movie” (as well as a second dress by her go-to designer Zuhair Murad) for the occasion.
“Last night we flew to Vegas, stood in line for a license with four other couples, all making the same journey to the wedding capital of the world,” the star wrote via her OnTheJLo news letter.
Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez are officially married. ✨ pic.twitter.com/rd2UF5YPrY
— bennifer tea (@jloaffleck) July 17, 2022
“Behind us two men held hands and held each other. In front of us, a young couple who made the three hour drive from Victorville on their daughter’s second birthday—all of us wanting the same thing— for the world to recognize us as partners and to declare our love to the world through the ancient and nearly universal symbol of marriage.”
Georgia Wedding Celebration
Just a month after legally tying the knot, the couple celebrated with friends and family on Aug. 20 at Ben’s Georgia property about an hour out of Savannah. The three day affair, planned by Colin Cowie, kicked off with a rehearsal dinner on Aug. 19, followed by a lavish ceremony and wedding reception. The couple said their vows in a romantic ceremony officiated by pal Jay Shetty in front of friends including Matt Damon and Jimmy Kimmel.
Jennifer looked amazing in a custom Ralph Lauren dress with a long 20 foot train, which her child Emme, 14, and Ben’s daughter Seraphina, 13, assisted with. At one point, the newlywed shared a big kiss in front of their kids, looking so in love! Fireworks could be heard going off in video captured by photo agencies after the ceremony as guests presumably headed to the seated dinner area pictured at the end of the dock overlooking the north Newport River.
Divorce
In mid-2024, breakup rumors began to circulate after Ben and Jennifer hadn’t been seen in public together for weeks. Within months, multiple outlets reported that there was trouble in paradise.
While the two avoided questions about their marital status, they listed their home in Beverly Hills for sale over the summer of 2024. That August, the couple’s split was confirmed when Jennifer filed for divorce from Ben and cited their official date of separation as April 26, 2024.
Jennifer seemingly addressed her divorce in an interview with Interview magazine, published on October 9, where she shared, “Everything that I’ve done over the past 25, 30 years, being in these different challenging situations, what can I f***king do when it’s just me flying on my own … what if I’m just free?”
She added, “I can’t be looking for happiness in other people,” she continued. “I have to have happiness within myself.” Her comments come after she was seen with Ben in Beverly Hills in September, having an amicable conversation following her filing for divorce.