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Inside bitter split of ‘difficult’ J-Lo and Ben…from rows over old ‘demons’ to REAL reason actor wanted to delay divorce
An insider reveals why the Hollywood fairytale was destined to have an unhappy ending
THEY are the unlikely Hollywood couple who got a second chance at love, but Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck's fairytale is officially over.
The couple, who hadn’t been seen together in months, have split for the second time in 20 years - after two years of marriage.
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J-Lo, 55, filed for divorce in Los Angeles County Superior Court yesterday, with court documents citing her separation from Batman actor Ben, 52, as April 26.
The date of the filing, August 20, also happens to be the second anniversary of their traditional wedding ceremony held in Georgia.
It is understood that they didn’t have a prenuptial agreement in place.
And just hours before J-Lo filed for divorce, the Oscar-winning actor was pictured without his wedding ring as he and ex-wife Jennifer Garner stepped off a private jet in LA, after dropping daughter Violet, 18, at college in Connecticut.
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A source told The Sun: “Jennifer and Ben are totally over, they’re just not compatible - even after 20 years neither have changed.
"He’s had his demons with alcohol, but she doesn’t really drink or smoke. She’s super clean-living.
“Both are very difficult human beings.”
It comes after split rumours have dogged the couple for months, which intensified when Ben was absent from J-Lo's Bridgerton-themed birthday celebration last month.
Most read in Celebrity
On the same day she turned 55, Ben was 2,500 miles away buying a new £23 million bachelor pad. In a candid birthday post, J-Lo admitted feeling “fragile” and called her fans her “biggest gift.”
This new purchase came just days after the couple put their £54 million mansion on the market.
JENNY FROM BAROQUE Inside J Lo's lavish Bridgerton party complete with full orchestra and stunning costumes... but husband Ben Affleck is nowhere to be seen
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Our source said: “One thing’s for sure, they enjoyed the speculation. People assume Ben hates the spotlight, but he arguably enjoys it even more than she does.
“He’s revelled being back in the spotlight, he loves how people are so obsessed with their relationship and the whole ‘Bennifer’ tag.
"It keeps him super relevant.
People assume Ben hates the spotlight, but he arguably enjoys it even more than she does...it keeps him super relevant.
Source
“But he knows deep down the moment the split is official, his profile will dip.
“Being Jennifer Lopez’s partner has made people care about him again, he’s well aware of that.
“The minute they break up, he knows it’s the day the media and press will stop being as interested in him.”
Tabloid frenzy
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The couple first met in 2002 on the set of the film Gigli. Despite their chemistry, the movie flopped. J-Lo was still married to her second husband, dancer Cris Judd, at the time, but they divorced shortly after. Ben and Jen then went public, sparking a tabloid frenzy.
J-Lo, who was married to her first husband, waiter Ojani Noa from 1997 until 1998, said in 2016: "I really felt like when I met Ben, 'Okay, this is it.’"
I really felt like when I met Ben, 'Okay, this is it.’
Jennifer Lopez
They became a Hollywood power couple and one of the first to be given a hybrid name: Bennifer.
Their engagement in November 2002 saw Ben pop the question with a custom-made Harry Winston pink-diamond solitaire ring, worth an estimated £2 million.
J-Lo's heartbreak
However, just days before their September 14, 2003 wedding, they announced in a joint statement they were postponing it due to excessive media attention. They later split in January 2004, with J-Lo admitting in 2022 it was "the biggest heartbreak of my life".
Jennifer married third husband, singer-songwriter Marc Anthony, 55, five months after breaking up with Ben in 2004.
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She gave birth to their twins, Emme and Maximilian, in 2008 before they divorced in 2014.
She then dated former baseball player, Alexander Rodriguez, 49, from February 2017, announcing their engagement two years later.
Ben, who won Oscars for Good Will Hunting and Argo, married actress Jennifer Garner in 2005. They have three children together, Violet, 18, Seraphina Rose, 15, and Samuel, 12, but split in 2018.
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Ben has been candid about his alcoholism, admitting in 2020 that his drinking increased as his marriage fell apart.
He said: “I drank relatively normally for a long time.
"What happened was that I started drinking more and more when my marriage was falling apart. This was 2015, 2016. My drinking, of course, created more marital problems.”
She remains, to this day, the hardest-working person I’ve come across in this business...and I’m so happy for her that she seems, at long last, to be getting the credit she deserves.”
Ben Affleck on J-Lo
Despite their separation, Jennifer and Ben supported each other over the years. Ben even said in 2020 that Jennifer should have been nominated for an Oscar for her role in Hustlers.
Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck relationship timeline
Lo and Ben were first linked together in 2002 and became engaged later that year. However, they called off the wedding just two years later. They rekindled their romance in 2021 and finally got hitched in 2022. Here is a timeline of their love story:
- June 2002 - Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck met on the set of Gigli and JLo divorced from her second husband Cris Judd
- November 2002 - Ben proposed to JLo with a six-carat pink diamond ring
- September 2003 - JLo and Ben called off their wedding and blamed it on 'excessive media attention'
- January 2004 - The celebrity couple announce they are heading separate ways
- July 2021 - JLo posts an intimate photo of herself beside Ben and they begin dating again
- April 2022 - Ben proposes to JLo for a second time
- July 2022 - The celebrity couple officially celebrated their nuptials in a Las Vegas, Nevada, ceremony
- August 2022 - Ben and JLo have a second A-list wedding at their $8.9million George estate
'Second chance'
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Fans went into meltdown when they started hanging out again in April 2021, following J-Lo’s split from Alex Rodriguez.
Ben whisked Jen away for a romantic getaway in Montana, with photos emerging of them together.
In a feature celebrating Jennifer’s 30-year career for the May issue of magazine, Ben praised the singer’s work ethic.
He said: “She remains, to this day, the hardest-working person I’ve come across in this business.
"She has great talent, but she has also worked very hard for her success, and I’m so happy for her that she seems, at long last, to be getting the credit she deserves.”
Then, in July 2021, they appeared to confirm their rekindled romance when she posted pictures of the pair kissing on her Instagram.
And two months later, they made their first public appearance together at the Venice International Film Festival for the premiere of his film, The Last Duel, with them sharing a kiss on the red carpet.
The Marry Me star revealed later that year that she will always believe in “happily ever after”.
It's a beautiful love story that we got a second chance.
Jennifer Lopez
Asked in November 2021, if she would ever marry again, she said: “I don’t know, yeah, I guess. You know me, I’m a romantic. I always have been. I’ve been married a few times.
"Yeah, I still believe in happily ever after, for sure, 100 percent.”
And she said in 2022: "I feel so lucky and happy and proud to be with him.
"It's a beautiful love story that we got a second chance."
In April 2022, J-Lo announced their engagement in a tearful video on her website On The JLo, showing off an emerald and diamond ring.
They tied the knot in Las Vegas on July 16, 2022, with a more lavish ceremony at Ben's Georgia plantation the following month.
Upon their return, they searched for a perfect home in Beverly Hills. However, cracks began to show when a grumpy looking Ben was scolded by his wife during the in February for not looking motivated.
Later, they had a public argument in their car, which went viral.
Their differences have always been apparent. J-Lo loves the spotlight, often sharing details with her 252 million Instagram followers, while recovering alcoholic Ben avoids social media.
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Speaking about the compromises they have had to make, Ben said in his wife's Amazon Prime documentary The Greatest Love Story Never Told, which was released in February: “Getting back together, I said, ‘Listen, one of the things I don’t want is a relationship on social media’.
“Then I sort of realised it’s not a fair thing to ask. It’s sort of like, you’re gonna marry a boat captain and you go, ‘Well, I don’t like the water.’ ”
And his wife admitted: “I don’t think [Ben] is very comfortable with me doing all of this. 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.”
Jennifer Lopez's relationship timeline
Ojani Noa
Lopez was briefly married to Cuban waiter Ojani Noa. The pair wed on February 22, 1997, but split less than a year later.
Since then, Lopez has endured legal challenges regarding her relationship with Noa, including in 2006 when she sued to prevent him from publishing a book about their marriage.
Sean Combs
While working on her debut album On The 6, Lopez began dating record producer and rapper Sean Combs.
They dated for two years from 1999 to 2001.
Cris Judd
After splitting with Combs, Lopez began to date former backup dancer Cris Judd. They wed on September 29, 2001.
But this too was a brief marriage, as they divorced less than a year later in June 2002, citing irreconcilable differences.
Ben Affleck
Just months after divorcing Judd, Lopez became engaged to actor and filmmaker Ben Affleck in November 2002.
The pair were due to get married in September 2003 but postponed the wedding indefinitely just a day before the ceremony and then split January 2004.
Nearly 20 years later, the pair made headlines after rekindling their romance in July 2021.
Marc Anthony
Following her heartbreak with Ben Affleck, Lopez started a relationship with her longtime friend, singer Marc Anthony.
She married Anthony in June 2004, and on November 7, 2007, during the final night of their co-headlining tour, the couple announced they were expecting their first child.
Lopez gave birth to twins Emme and Maximilian in February 2008.
But three years later, in July 2011, the couple announced their split and filed for divorce in April 2012. Their divorce was finalized in 2014.
Casper Smart
Between October 2011 and August 2016, Lopez had an on-off relationship with her former backup dancer, Casper Smart.
She then found love with former New York Yankees baseball player Alex Rodriguez the following year.
In March 2019, the couple announced their engagement.
Alex Rodriguez
Rodriguez met Lopez 20 years ago when the baseball star asked for the pop star's autograph and again at New York Yankees game.
It was first announced the couple was dating in March 2017.
On April 14, 2021, the couple released a statement to Today saying that they have ended their two-year engagement.
Separate lives
Reports suggest they had been leading separate lives for some time, and they have not been spotted together since May 19.
It was also reported that Ben moved out of their Beverly Hills mansion that month into a rental property in Brentwood, and was on various occasions.
Later that month, J-Lo also announced she had cancelled her upcoming tour, due to start on June 26, because she is "taking time off to be with her children, family and close friends."
She wrote on her website: “Please know that I wouldn’t do this if I didn’t feel that it was absolutely necessary.”
J-Lo's solo birthday
The couple spent their second wedding anniversary on July 16 apart, with Ben missing J-Lo’s birthday celebrations in the Hamptons a week later, preferring to stay in LA to run errands.
She thanked her fans after the big bash, writing in a lengthy Instagram post, "Besides my family and friends, you have always been there for me in the good times and in the tough times.
"I can always count on you. And I want you to know that you can always count on me. Thank you for your caring, your understanding, your loyalty and most importantly, your love."
If there’s one thing Jennifer knows how to do well - it’s get divorced.
Source
Fourth J-Lo divorce
Our source said the split would have been “carefully planned” and timed for optimum publicity, according to the insider who added Jennifer would have waited until she needed the publicity to announce it.
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“If there’s one thing Jennifer knows how to do well - it’s get divorced.
“They won’t waste this moment. The split would have been carefully planned and announced, so they continued to live separate lives in their own houses until that time came.”
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