What happened between Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck? | Explainer

The nickname “J.Lo” may soon be no more, now Jennifer Lopez and longtime love Ben Affleck have finally tied the knot.

The wedding, which has arguably been 20 years in the making, took place on July 16, 2022, in Las Vegas. What’s more, Lopez has officially taken Affleck’s last name.

Fans have embraced the news whole-heartedly, and in their excitement have stumbled across an incredibly sweet old interview some say has foretold the future.

Watch the video above, and read on to remember the 20-year history of J.Lo and Ben – also known as “Bennifer”.

READ MORE: Jennifer Lopez recreates Love Don’t Cost a Thing music video 20 years later

‘It was meant to be’

According to court documents, Lopez has officially taken Affleck as her new last name.

An entry in Clark County Clerk’s online registry reveals the decision by J.Lo, and was first pointed out online.

The record shows that the singer has officially changed her name to “Jennifer Affleck”.

Shortly after a photo of the record went viral online, Lopez confirmed the news she was married on social media, but didn’t address her name change, though she did sign off her newsletter announcement as “Mrs. Jennifer Lynn Affleck”.

Now, delighted fans have dug up an incredibly sweet video that pictures a young J.Lo talking candidly about her engagement and future wedding with Affleck.

The video (which you can watch above), is an old Access Hollywood interview from 2002 or 2003 with celebrity interviewer Pat O’Brien.

O’Brien and Lopez are seen in her kitchen, where the star is whisking some eggs to make her breakfast.

O’Brien suddenly decides to press Lopez on the issue of her iconic name changing.

“I wanna know, a week after you’re married, what will your name be?” he asks.

At that time, Lopez and Affleck had been planning to marry in September 2003. Sadly, it was a wedding they decided to postpone, due to the overwhelming media frenzy their nuptials caused.

“Jennifer Lopez, but my name will be Jennifer Affleck, obviously,” Lopez says without a beat. “J. Aff… doesn’t quite have the same ring to it, but…” she adds, jokingly.

Fans are loving the video now, with some claiming that it has foretold the future.

“Fortune teller legend,” one person tweeted.

“They’re an OTP [one true pair],” another gushed.

A third replied: “It was meant to be!!!”

When did Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck start dating? 

Lopez and Affleck met in 2002 on the set of Gigli. Lopez was still married to dancer Cris Judd at the time, but the writing was on the wall and nine months after their wedding she filed for divorce. 

The media attention went into overdrive once Lopez and Affleck confirmed their relationship. The high-profile pair were quickly dubbed “Bennifer” by the press with their every move watched and documented. 

The couple turned even more heads when Affleck – who was known for being a jeans and T-shirt kind of guy – suddenly began appearing on red carpets looking polished from head to toe.

What projects did Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck star in together?

Hollywood’s new couple starred in the aforementioned Gigli together. The studio had high hopes for the crime-comedy, but it flopped in the box office and was panned by both critics and fans. The film only made $9 million in its opening weekend.

They again teamed up for the rom-com Jersey Girl, which was released in 2003, but it also pulled in disappointing figures. 

One memorable project they appeared in together was Lopez’s ‘Jenny From the Block’ music video, released at the peak of their romance in 2002. The song reached number three on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the US.

The actor – complete with suave makeover – made a cameo in the clip, in which they mocked the media interest in their relationship. In the video, they were seen driving around LA with paparazzi on their tail, while also lounging on a yacht as photographers clicked away.

“If I have a big regret, it was doing the music video,” Affleck said in a 2008 interview. “But that happened years ago. I’ve moved on.”

When did Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck get engaged?

Two months after the ‘Jenny From the Block’ music video premiered in September 2002, Affleck proposed to Lopez with a 6.1-carat pink diamond Harry Winston ring. The pricetag? A reported $3.2 million.

In an interview with Apple Music in April 2020, Lopez reflected on her engagement, telling host Zane Lowe that her ring was admired by many, including legendary singer Barbra Streisand.

“I met her at an Oscar party, years ago, and I was at the time engaged to Ben Affleck, and she’s really into diamonds, which I didn’t know,” Lopez recalled. “He had given me a pink diamond, which got a lot of press and was whatever. I loved getting it, don’t get me wrong.

“So she came up to me, and like, she’s heard of it. I’m like, ‘Oh My God.’ And she’s like, ‘Can I see your ring?’ And she asked me about the ring, but then she asked me – and I thought it was so strange – about being famous, and how I handle it.”

The engaged couple had made plans to walk down the aisle in Santa Barbara in September 2003 but postponed their plans days before the big day due to “excessive media attention”. 

“We have decided to postpone the date,” they confirmed in a statement at the time. “When we found ourselves seriously contemplating hiring three separate ‘decoy brides’ at three different locations, we realised that something was awry.

“We began to feel that the spirit of what should have been the happiest day of our lives could be compromised. We felt what should have been a joyful and sacred day could be spoiled for us, our families and our friends.”

Why did Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck split?

In January 2004, four months after postponing their wedding, the couple called off their engagement and split for good. 

“I am confirming the report that Jennifer Lopez has ended her engagement to Ben Affleck,” her rep said in a statement at the time. “At this difficult time, we ask that you respect her privacy.”

It was widely reported one of the reasons for the split was because the constant media attention became too much for Affleck.

“I think Jen and I made a mistake in that we fell in love, we were excited and maybe too accessible,” he later explained. ‘I don’t think either of us anticipated the degree to which it would take on a world of its own.”

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Lopez also reflected on the relationship in her 2014 memoir True Love.

“It felt like my heart had been torn out of my chest,” she wrote. “And when the realisation that I wasn’t going to have the fairy tale family I wanted really set in, well, that was when I really started to fall apart.”

Months after the split, Affleck began dating his Daredevil co-star Jennifer Garner, while Lopez turned to singer Marc Anthony. They would marry in a backyard ceremony five months after her split from the actor.

In 2005, Affleck and Garner made it official in a ceremony in Turks and Caicos. Garner was reportedly three months pregnant with the couple’s first child, Violet, now 15. They also share daughter Seraphina, 12, and son Samuel, nine. 

In 2008, Lopez and Anthony welcomed their twins, Emme and Max, now 13. When the twins were almost three, Lopez and Anthony announced their split. Affleck and Garner are also no longer together, splitting in 2015 after 10 years of marriage.  

READ MORE: Jennifer Lopez and Alex Rodriguez’s complete relationship timeline

Are Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck still friends?

Like he is with his ex-wife Jennifer Garner, Affleck is still friends with his former fiancée.

Just last year, he rallied around Lopez when she was snubbed by the Oscars despite her stellar role in Hustlers. 

“She should have been nominated. She’s the real thing,” he told The New York Times. “I keep in touch periodically with her and have a lot of respect for her. How awesome is it that she had her biggest hit movie at 50? That’s f–king baller.”

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Jennifer Lopez through the years: 1997 to 2022