Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck: A Comprehensive Timeline of Those Divorce Rumors

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If anyone knows trials of love, it’s Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck.

After falling in love on the set of the universally panned Gigli in 2001, Bennifer called off their first attempt at a union in 2004. Two decades later, the couple rekindled their romance and made it to the altar in Las Vegas on July 16, 2022. Lopez changed her name, and even more important, accompanied Ben to Dunkin’ Donuts, both in real life and in a Super Bowl ad. If that’s not the truest definition of to have and to hold…

“It’s been such a journey. The thing that I think I’ve been wondering about my whole life is, like, is love real? Does true love exist?” Lopez told Today in January 2023. “It’s two people kind of coming together and saying, you know, ‘I’m gonna be here no matter what. And we’re gonna get through it together.’”

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Bennifer 2.0.

The public was on their side, and J.Lo was ready to cash in, releasing a follow-up to her 2002 album This Is Me…Then, aptly titled This Is Me…Now. Affleck even went out of his comfort zone to take part in the album’s companion film project, This Is Me: A Love Story, and the accompanying documentary, The Greatest Love Story Never Told. Which, um, got negative reviews. But hey, after Gigli, aren’t bad films at the core of their relationship?

Unfortunately, just a few months after the film’s release in February 2024, rumors began swirling that Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck were “headed toward divorce.” Then, Lopez announced she was canceling her summer tour to spend time with her family.

So, what’s the latest? Here’s a timeline of all the Bennifer divorce rumors, with the most recent updates up top.

June 21, 2024: Ben Affleck appears on Kevin Hart’s podcast, Hart to Heart, and publicly refers to his relationship for the first time since divorce rumors began circulating.

When asked whether prefers working in front of or behind the camera, Affleck says that he sees himself as more of a director, and that, in fact, he’s “a little shy.”

“I also don’t like a lot of attention,” he added, per People. “This why people see me [and] they’re like, ‘Well, this dude always mad….’ Because somebody has their camera and is sticking it in my face.” Affleck could be referring to several instances where he’s been characterized as “mad,” such as when he huffily slammed his car door, or when he appeared to be in glum mood at the Grammys.

“We went somewhere with [Jennifer]—I can’t remember because she’s so famous, and she creates this…people love her. And she really represents something important to people,” Affleck explained.

“[To me,] people are like, ‘Hey, I like your movie,’ and then they’re like ‘AHHHH! J-LO!’” he continued. “It’s amazing, you know what I mean?

“I don’t mind you taking my picture at a club, a premiere, whatever. My wife, I don’t give a fuck. Go ahead. Knock yourself out. I don’t notice you,” he said before adding, “My children, that’s a different thing.”

He went on to explain an experience with the couple’s five children where they needed to walk a short distance near Times Square. Essentially, J.Lo was mobbed.

“We get out with her, all the kids, through Times Square, and the shit was like fuckin’ bananas,” he said. “I was like, ‘Oh my God.’ There was a lady, she was smoking weed, in a full purple skintight suit—she’s a heavy lady—and she starts running backwards filming, going ‘J-LO!!’ Like a herald. Then gets everyone else, they’re all tourists, whatever, just moving.

“Then I'm moving. We got, like, our five kids, me and Jen, and it’s, it’s like, it feels like hundreds of people and now screaming,” he adds.

June 11, 2024: They may not be together-together, but there’s no animosity. “They’re still friendly and see each other every few days,” a source “close to Lopez” told People. This honestly tracks, as even when they were post-split the first time, they only ever said nice things about each other.

June 8, 2024: Their $60 million house is on the market, per TMZ. Pretty much everyone saw this coming, as Lopez was seen real estate shopping without her husband, and there were already sources saying Affleck moved out long ago. Now it’s official.

June 2, 2024: Spotted: B and J at S’s game. They both went to Samuel Affleck’s basketball game. “It’s a good sign they were at the game together,” an insider tells People. No kidding.

May 31, 2024: Live Nation announces that Lopez canceled her world tour to spend more time with “her children, family, and close friends.” Notice that “husband” is not listed. In her own statement, Lopez writes she is “devastated” and “heartsick” over the cancellation. “Please know that I wouldn’t do this if I didn't feel that it was absolutely necessary,” she wrote on her newsletter On the JLo.

Meanwhile, a source tells People that the couple is attempting to “put the kids first,” adding, “Jennifer and Ben have always been very family-oriented.”

May 30, 2024: Lopez and Affleck hold hands at his daughter Violet’s graduation. “[Lopez] seemed upbeat and engaged,” an onlooker tells People.

March 28, 2024: “They are taking some space to work out whether or not the relationship is right for both of them,” a source tells Us Weekly. “Jennifer had started ramping up her work commitments and prepping for her tour. She’s very focused on work and overextends herself.… He’s been checked out…[they are on] two completely different pages most of the time. The honeymoon phase has worn off.”

Affleck’s ex, Jennifer Garner, “wants the best” for Affleck, according to a source in People. “She wants him happy and healthy so he can be the best dad possible.” This is basically what she said when Ben called it quits with Ana de Armas, so props to J.Garn for staying on message.

May 27, 2024: Affleck attends his daughter Violet Affleck’s graduation solo, per photos published by Page Six. The fact that Lopez does not come with him is surprising, considering how close they have always seemed to be with one another’s kids. Violet came with them on their honeymoon for Pete’s sake!

Lopez appears to spend Memorial Day Weekend at the home of a friend, per photos published in the Daily Mail. That said, Lopez does appear to be wearing her engagement ring in the pics (along with white pants and a tie-dye Gucci top).

May 22, 2024: As speculation about a Bennifer divorce ramps up, a journalist in Mexico City—where Lopez is promoting her new movie Atlas—asks JLo point-blank if the rumors are true. Lopez rebuffs the question, responding, “You know better than that.”

Meanwhile, an insider tells People that their union “is not in the best place at the moment.” The source added, “She likes to open her heart to her fans and to the world. He is more introspective and private. This has been difficult day-to-day.” Yep, got that.

May 20, 2024: The day everyone dropped their talking points. “If there was a way to divorce on grounds of temporary insanity, he would,” a rather scathing insider tells Page Six. “He feels like the last two years was just a fever dream, and he’s come to his senses now and understands there is just no way this is going to work.”

Sources tell People that the reason for the turmoil at Casa Bennifer is the two have different approaches to fame. “Ben hates all attention and it makes him very uncomfortable,” one source tells the outlet. “Jennifer has always had a different approach.”

A source “in the film industry” adds that Affleck has “always been impressed” by Lopez, and specifically her work ethic and career but “always sharing her life is not his way.”

“Even though he admires that about her, it doesn’t make him happy and causes stress in his life and then in hers. There is no question their different styles clash,” the industry source says.

Yet another source, this one from “the music world,” confirms: Lopez “needs that expression but Affleck simply is not comfortable with it. After a while it causes tension in the relationship. He is more introspective and private. She likes to open her heart to her fans and to the world. This makes them considerably different, and it has been difficult in the day-to-day relationship.”

“There have always been clashes in their styles, how they handle issues, and their actions, but nothing has stopped their love over the years,” the source says. “This is a great love story.”

The same day, Lopez attends the Atlas premiere without her husband, who is busy filming The Accountant 2.

May 19, 2024: Lopez, Affleck, and Ben’s ex, Jennifer Garner, are photographed attending a family event with Affleck and Garner’s three kids, Violet, Fin, and Samuel. Though they aren’t photographed together at the event, Lopez and Affleck are later seen together in a car, laying it on thick for the paps. At one point, cameras catch a photo of Affleck’s phone appearing to call Lopez, who is in the car with him. The name saved in his contacts? Jennifer Affleck. (See the pics here.)

May 17, 2024: Lopez and Affleck are photographed together for the first time in 47 days. While a source tells People that the pair arrived at the school play separately, the two leave the event together and are both reportedly spotted wearing their wedding rings.

May 16, 2024: Affleck is photographed leaving the Brentwood home he has reportedly been staying in “over the past week or so.” He does appear to be wearing his wedding ring in the photo, which was published by TMZ.

That same day, relationship coach Lenna Marsak claims on Instagram Stories that Lopez has “liked” a particularly interesting post about relationships. “You can’t build a relationship with someone who is disconnected from themselves,” Marsak captions the post on March 19, which details why it’s difficult to foster a “healthy relationship” with “someone who lacks integrity & emotional safety.”

Per E! News, Marsak shared a screenshot of Lopez’s apparent double-tap, writing, “Just logged on to IG and noticed @jlo liked my post. Jlo or her PR team, I’ll take it.”

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Meanwhile, Affleck is reportedly spending time away from their Beverly Hills home.

Meanwhile, a source tells Us Weekly that the two are not splitting up but are “having issues in their marriage.” According to the source, “They started having issues a few months ago as Jen had started ramping up work commitments and prepping for her [This Is Me…Live] tour.”

May 15, 2024: In Touch reports that Affleck has moved out of their shared home, and that the couple is “headed toward divorce.”

“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,” the source says. “They waited almost two decades to get back together, but in the end, they just couldn’t make it work…. They both said they’d matured and learned from their mistakes, but some of the bigger issues that tore them apart the first time remained the same.”

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What about the greatest love story never told?

May 14, 2024: Lopez goes house-hunting in Los Angeles without Affleck.

May 12, 2024: Lopez is seen in Beverly Hills on Mother’s Day. People later reports that she and Affleck did not spend the holiday together.

May 6, 2024: Lopez attends (and co-chairs) the 2024 Met Gala without her husband.

May 5, 2024: Affleck attends The Roast of Tom Brady in Inglewood, California.

March 30, 2024: Lopez and Affleck are photographed together for the last time before the divorce rumors start. Later, People reports that Lopez remained in New York City to film Kiss of the Spider Woman and promoted her Netflix film, Atlas, while Affleck returned to LA to work on The Accountant 2.

February 27, 2024: In The Greatest Love Story Never Told, Affleck said they are “two people with different kinds of approaches trying to learn to compromise.”

“Getting back together, I said, ‘Listen, one of the things I don’t want is a relationship on social media,’” he says in the doc, per People. “Then I sort of realized 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.’”

Lopez acknowledges that Affleck may not be fully “comfortable” with his role in her work. “I don’t think [Ben] is very comfortable with me doing all of this,” she says. “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.”

This post will be updated. For everything that happened before this point, check out Bennifer’s complete relationship timeline here.

Originally Appeared on Glamour