After a relationship that spanned two decades, two engagements, two weddings, and headlines too numerous to count, Jennifer Lopez has filed for divorce from Ben Affleck. The filing Tuesday in Los Angeles Superior Court brought to an apparent end a celebrity coupling —or at least the second installment of it—that dazzled from the very heights of the pop culture firmament and emblazoned countless tabloid covers, the AP reports. They became known, even before such power-couple portmanteaus were ubiquitous, as "Bennifer."
After meeting, falling in love, and getting engaged in the early 2000s—and starring together in 2003's infamous Gigli and 2004's Jersey Girl—the couple parted ways, blaming in part the pressure of the public eye. But to the delight of many and perhaps the skepticism of others, they reunited two decades later and married—twice—in 2022. "Love is beautiful. Love is kind. And it turns out love is patient. Twenty years patient," wrote Lopez, announcing their first, quickie Las Vegas wedding that July, and signing off as Jennifer Lynn Affleck. A month later, they had a much grander wedding at Affleck's house in Georgia, in front of friends and family. TMZ notes that the Tuesday filing comes two years to the day after the second wedding.
Affleck, 51, had been married once before and Lopez, 54, had been married three times before. Lopez is starring in the upcoming Unstoppable under Affleck and Matt Damon's Artists Equity banner. In May, she starred in the Netflix movie Atlas. At the end of the month, she suddenly canceled her 2024 North American tour, saying she was "heartsick and devastated" to be letting fans down but the move was necessary. TMZ reports that the divorce filing lists the date of separation as April 26. (More Jennifer Lopez stories.)