It was supposed to be their fairytale ending. The couple affectionately known as “Bennifer” rekindled their romance in April 2021 after first falling for each other in the early 2000s, but amid a frenzy of speculation that their marriage is over, Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck’s divorce timeline makes us feel really sad.
Related: Take a look at J-Lo’s other relationships
J-Lo and Ben met in 2001 on the set of their movie, Gigli, in which they played love interests. They started dating in 2002, around the time Ben also starred as the love interest in the music video for J-Lo’s song, “Jenny From the Block.”
In November 2002, Ben proposed to J-Lo with a 6.1-carat pink diamond ring from Harry Winston, and the two got engaged. Two days before they were scheduled to tie the knot in September 2003, J-Lo and Ben announced that they had postponed their wedding and eventually called it off.
J-Lo and Ben got engaged for a second time in April 2022 and married in July 2022 at the Little White Wedding Chapel in Las Vegas, Nevada. “We did it. Love is beautiful. Love is kind. And it turns out love is patient. Twenty years patient,” J-Lo wrote in her newsletter, On the J-Lo, at the time. She continued, “They were right when they said, ‘All you need is love’.”
Now, as rumblings of their split continue to send shockwaves through Hollywood, we take a look at how they got here in the first place.
On August 1, the Daily Mail reported that Ben and Jen’s divorce papers have been signed for a month, but the couple has yet to submit them, “after a final attempt at reconciliation in recent weeks failed.” The couple’s divorce documents “are finalized, but not yet turned in,” multiple sources claimed.
OK! Magazine reported that on July 24 that Ben had closed a deal on a $20 million mansion “for himself” in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Pacific Palisades. That same day, J-Lo finalized the sale of her New York City condo.
As the magazine previously reported, J-Lo was “horrified” that Affleck had moved his personal items out of their marital home while she was away in Europe. Jen was horrified when she came back and found out Ben had packed everything up while she was gone,” the source revealed, explaining that the move felt “cold” and “like a military operation.” The insider continued, “As far as she’s concerned, a real slap in the face.”
Among one of the more telling signs that their marriage was in a bad way was the fact that Ben and Jen spent their second anniversary apart. Multiple outlets reported that J-Lo was spotted riding a bike around the Hamptons on July 16—she’d been spending a lot of time on the Long Island coast of New York without Ben, who was seen in LA.
Remember they did have a second wedding on August 23, 2022, at Ben’s home in Riceboro, Georgia, which did J-Lo acknowledge on her Instagram last year, so maybe they were holding out until that date to celebrate.
A source told In Touch that Jen’s “lost everything. Between dealing with crisis management and intense heartbreak, she’s told friends she needs help,” adding that J-Lo is “humiliated that it’s over already after just two years.”
They were house hunting for two years as newlyweds, looking at more than 80 homes before landing on this one. But just a year after dropping $60 million, Bennifer was reportedly looking to sell their marital mansion in Beverly Hills.
In Touch reported on June 7, 2024, that Jen’s ex, Alex Rodriguez, carried some resentment toward her. “Alex fell apart when J-Lo ran off with Ben,” an insider said. “He felt like she tossed him out with the trash when she got a better offer from Ben, and it did a huge number on him.”
On June 2, 2024, Ben and J-Lo were photographed outside of a YMCA facility in Los Angeles. Page Six captured their kiss, and they seem to be air-kissing each other on the cheek rather than the lips.
On May 31, Live Nation confirmed that J-Lo’s summer tour was canceled so she could take “time off to be with her children, family and close friends.” The news also put into question the continuation of her Las Vegas residency.
At the premiere of Atlas, J-Lo talked to AP about how her life is going at a steady pace versus her past. “Over the past few years, I tried to slow down more and be home more.”
J-Lo appeared in Mexico City with her co-star Simu Liu to promote their new Netflix film Atlas. “Is your divorce with Ben Affleck real? These rumors?” a reporter asked in Spanish in a video clip. “What is the truth? Para le press le Mexicana [for the Mexican press], what is the truth of the situation?”
In an article published by Daily Mail, a source said J-Lo was confiding in Garner because of their shared experiences with the same man, although circumstances are a little different. “J-Lo has been confiding in Jen because she knows that she is one of the only people in the world who would understand what she is going through,” the insider said.
Amid rumors their marriage is on the rocks, Jen and Ben were spotted in a heated argument while out and about in LA and a TikTok lip reader attempted to decipher what they were talking about.
Jennifer Garner reportedly visited Ben Affleck at his rental home in Brentwood, where he’s been staying since moving out of his shared home with Jennifer Lopez according to OK! Magazine.
Us Weekly reported that he’d moved out “weeks ago” from their $60 million marital home that they’ve lived in for less than two years.
On May 17, 2024, Lopez “liked” a social media post that described qualities in a partner that could lead to an unhealthy relationship.
In Touch was the first to report that Ben and Jen were seemingly headed for divorce on May 15, 2024. “The writing is on the wall—it’s over. They’re headed for a divorce—and for once, [Ben’s] not to blame!” a source told the outlet. “He’s focusing on his work and his kids now. Ben already moved out and they’ll likely have to sell the dream house they spent two years searching for. They’ll never stop loving each other, but she can’t control him, and he can’t change her. There’s no way it could have lasted.”
