Days after Hollywood sweethearts Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez—affectionately known as Bennifer by fans—filed for divorce in Los Angeles County, new reports reveal that the couple was secretly split up months ago but continued to act as if they were still happily married.
The couple has an intriguing romantic history. They first met on the set of the film “Gigli” and were engaged to be married in 2002—at the same time that Affleck later said he fell in love with actress Jennifer Garner, to whom he was married for 12 years, and Lopez was married to another man.
Twenty years, several children, and two divorces later, the two stars reconnected and married in a small Las Vegas wedding in July 2022. Then, about a month later, they had a larger public ceremony for friends and family at Affleck’s mansion in Georgia. It seemed the two lovebirds had finally tied the knot, reunited for good. But alas, the story doesn’t seem to have a happy ending.
Despite rumors that lasted months about tension between the couple, the public only recently found out that Bennifer had broken up back in April 26—only to keep acting and pretending to be committed. This date is listed on the divorce filing, submitted by Lopez, as their official separation date. The paperwork was filed on August 20, marking the second anniversary of their Georgia wedding ceremony.
Initial rumors of problems were triggered when fans noticed that the couple was not seen together for a total of 47 days. Such rumors persisted as Lopez and Affleck were not together for a series of summer holidays and “The Wedding Planner” star attended the Met Gala alone back in May.
Additionally, Bennifer was split up for summers they spent across the country from each other and did not even reunite for their wedding anniversary. But the mystery persisted, as the couple was seen, apparently still affectionate, publicly in recent months. The last spotting was on June 2, when they seemed to be happy to see each other to watch a basketball game in which Samuel, Affleck’s son, was playing.
The couple even went so far as to intentionally wear and sport their wedding bands after people started noticing that they were not and began asking questions.
