Nearly two years after Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck tied the knot, it now seems that the A-list couple is rumoured to be splitting up once again.
According to multiple reports, the 54-year-old singer and the 51-year-old actor are experiencing “issues” in their marriage, while some sources claim the Gone Girl star has moved out of their $60m home in Beverly Hills. Although the couple have yet to publicly comment on the rumours, that hasn’t stopped people from speculating about a potential divorce – considering the pair weren’t photographed together for two months.
Lopez and Affleck, who rekindled their romance in 2021 after calling off their 2002 engagement, were last photographed in public on 30 March. In the photos, the pair were seen holding hands as they walked together throughout the streets of New York City. However, the “I’m Real” singer has since been spotted solo during several outings, such as promoting her new Netflix film Atlas and attending the 2024 Met Gala. Lopez is also set to kick off her low-performing tour – which was rebranded to “This Is Me… Live | The Greatest Hits” amid weak ticket sales – in Orlando, Florida, next month.
Meanwhile, the Oscar-winning director is reportedly busy with his own projects, like filming The Accountant 2 in Los Angeles. This marks a departure for the pair, who have never gone this long without being seen together since their nuptials in July 2022.
Here’s everything we know about the Bennifer 2.0 divorce rumours.
Earlier this week, In Touch was the first to report that Affleck has “moved out” of his home with Lopez amid marital issues. “The writing is on the wall - it’s over,” an insider claimed to the outlet. “They’re headed for a divorce - and for once, [Ben’s] not to blame!”
The source said that the father of three is busy focusing on his work and his family life. “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,” they added about the couple.
Reports have speculated that the reason for the split was Lopez embracing the media attention surrounding their romance, while Affleck has been more reluctant. The “On The Floor” singer self-financed her $20m Prime Video musical film This Is Me … Now: A Love Story, which coincided with the release of her latest album This Is Me … Now. Along with the visual album, Lopez released the documentary The Greatest Love Story Never Told, which disclosed details about her 20-years-long romance with Affleck.
The doc’s title, The Greatest Love Story Never Told, came from a stack of love letters that Affleck had written to Lopez. The Hustlers star initially used the love letters as inspiration for her album, digging them up for songwriters she had invited to her house. However, it seemed that Affleck wasn’t on board with his wife sharing their personal letters in the documentary.
According to Variety, a scene showed Affleck being “taken aback” after noticing his private love letters strewn about for the songwriters. He reportedly told the camera: “I did really find the beauty and the poetry and the irony in the fact that it’s the greatest love story never told. If you’re making a record about it, that seems kind of like telling it.”
At another point in the documentary, the Argo director echoed his sentiments about sharing details of their relationship. “Things that are private I always felt are sacred and special because, in part, they’re private,” he said. “So this was something of an adjustment for me.”
Following the In Touch report, TMZ published photographs of Affleck driving away from a residence in the Brentwood neighbourhood of Los Angeles on Thursday 16 May. The outlet claimed that Affleck has been staying at a Brentwood home for the past week. Lopez herself was seen viewing a luxury property in Los Angeles last week, though a source told Us Weekly that it was an investment property for the Selena star.
Despite the speculation, both Affleck and Lopez have recently been spotted wearing their wedding rings. The TMZ photo captured the actor with his left hand dangling out the driver’s seat window, giving a clear view of his ring finger. On Thursday, Lopez was also sporting her ring as she arrived at a dance studio in Los Angeles.
Speculation fueled even further when eagle-eyed fans noticed Lopez had “liked” an Instagram post about unhealthy relationships. The 19 March post – which was shared by relationship coach Lenna Marsak – explained that “you cannot build a healthy relationship with somebody” who “lacks integrity and emotional safety,” “doesn’t respect your time,” lacks “communication skills” and doesn’t have a strong sense of self.
Marsak confirmed that Lopez didn’t like the post until this week, when she shared a screenshot of the notification to her Instagram Story. “Just logged on to IG and noticed @Jlo liked my post,” the relationship coach said, joking that it could also be her “PR team” who liked the post.
While one source claimed to Us Weekly that the pair are navigating some problems in their marriage, they maintained that Lopez and Affleck aren’t splitting up just yet. “Jen and Ben are having issues in their marriage,” the insider said on Thursday. “They started having issues a few months ago as Jen had started ramping up work commitments and prepping for her tour.”
“Jen is very focused on work,” they added. “They are on two completely different pages most of the time.”
As divorce rumours began to heat up, Lopez and Affleck were finally photographed together for the first time in 47 days. According to photos obtained by In Touch, the couple were seen reuniting to watch Fin Affleck, 15, perform in a school play in Los Angeles on Thursday evening. Affleck was pictured behind the wheel of a black SUV, as he reached over to open the passenger door for Lopez. They were joined by the singer’s 16-year-old child Emme, who sat in the back seat.
“Nothing would have stopped them coming together for the kids,” a source told In Touch. “All the marriage drama comes second. They are putting on a united front. Jen showed up with Emme to support Fin. Emme’s super attached to Fin, so it’s only natural that Jen, no matter what she’s going through with Ben, was there.”
Affleck was previously married to actor Jennifer Garner in 2005. In addition to Fin, the former couple share daughter Violet Affleck, 18, and son Samuel Affleck, 12. They finalised their divorce in October 2018, three years after announcing their separation. Meanwhile, Lopez shares 16-year-old twins Emme and Max with ex-husband Marc Anthony.
Lopez and Affleck rekindled their romance in early 2021 following her breakup with former New York Yankees player Alex Rodriguez. Lopez announced her engagement to Affleck in April 2022, 20 years after they were first engaged in 2002 before their split in 2004. They tied the knot in July 2022 during an intimate Las Vegas ceremony. The couple hosted a second wedding ceremony at Affleck’s home in Georgia one month later.
The Independent has contacted representatives for Affleck and Lopez for comment.
