Following news that Jennifer Lopez has filed for divorce from Ben Affleck, fans of are desperately trying to understand what went wrong.
The couple, who broke off their first engagement in 2004, were said to be living "separate lives" in recent months. However, some sources had claimed there was a "sliver of hope" the pair would reconcile. Unfortunately, the Monster-in-Law star filed for divorce on the two year anniversary of their Georgia wedding, after claims Affleck hadn't "shown interest" in making the relationship work.
Affleck and Lopez's final red carpet appearance was at the premiere of This Is Me... Now: A Love Story, which took place on February 13, 2024. For the glitzy event, Lopez wore a Zuhair Murad Couture gown, consisting of a strapless velvet bodice and a sheer tulle skirt, adorned with imagery from the astrological zodiac. At the time, Affleck and Lopez looked incredibly in love, and photographs taken on the night prove it. But looking back on the event, we're wondering if we missed some major clues there was trouble in paradise.
Lopez discussed her decision to make This Is Me... Now, a musical project inspired by her quest for love and her reunion with Affleck, with Variety. "I’ve been on this journey, and I’ve been trying to figure it out," she explained. "Now I feel like because Ben and I have rediscovered each other—and now that we’re married—I have something to offer. " She continued, "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."
Unfortunately, the project—which included an album, a music film, and a documentary—didn't appear to be as successful as the singer had hoped. Two months later, Lopez rebranded her This Is Me... Now tour to incorporate hits from her entire career. By June, the tour had been canceled altogether, and divorce rumors reached a fever pitch. It was claimed that low ticket sales had nothing to do with the tour's cancelation, adding weight to the idea that an Affleck-Lopez split was on the horizon.
Fans have long alluded to a particular moment in J.Lo's documentary, The Greatest Love Story Never Told, featuring Affleck, as reported by the Daily Mail. While creating new music, it was revealed Lopez had shown a personal gift Affleck had given her, which consisted of all of the love letters the actor had ever written to his Gigli co-star, to her songwriters.
Speaking in the documentary, Affleck explained, "My book that I had given her was down there. She's like 'I've been reading it to people. This is kind of the inspiration and I've been showing them the book.'" Visibly perturbed, Affleck continued, "I was like, 'You've been showing all the musicians all those letters?' And they were like, 'Yeah, we call you Pen Affleck.' And I was like, 'Oh my god.'"
Somewhat understandably, Affleck revealed how much he valued privacy when it came to his romance with Lopez. "I did really find the beauty and the poetry and the irony in the fact that it’s the greatest love story never told," he said. "If you’re making a record about it, that seems kind of like telling it."
We may never know the reason for Affleck and Lopez's decision to divorce. Regardless, it's incredibly sad that the breakup appeared to happen so soon after Lopez made a very public declaration of her love to Affleck in the form of an album, a film, and a documentary.
