Jennifer Lopez files for divorce from Ben Affleck – and picks a poignant date

Singer and actor Jennifer Lopez is divorcing Ben Affleck after two years of marriage.

The Hollywood couple tied the knot in Las Vegas in July 2022, having rekindled their relationship almost 20 years after calling off their first engagement.

Court documents seen by Sky News show Lopez filed the papers on Tuesday – exactly two years on from their grander wedding ceremony held a month after their Vegas trip.

Lopez listed the date of their separation as 26 April and there is no prenuptial agreement, according to entertainment news outlet TMZ.

Lopez, 55, and Affleck, 52, first met on the set of their romcom Gigli in about 2001, before announcing their engagement the following year.

Nicknamed Bennifer, they were an immediate Hollywood power couple – and sent up the press interest in their relationship when Affleck featured in the singer’s music video for the hit single, Jenny From The Block.

But not long before the big day in 2003, the wedding was postponed “due to the excessive media attention” – and their split was announced at the beginning of 2004.

Both went on to get married and have children with different partners – Lopez married her long-time friend Marc Anthony and welcomed twins in 2008, while Affleck married and had three children with actress Jennifer Garner.

Rumours of a reunion started to swirl in 2021 when the pair, then both single, were photographed together, and later that year they confirmed the return of Bennifer.

In an interview, Lopez described their first break-up as “the biggest heartbreak” of her life.

“I honestly felt like I was going to die,” she said in an interview with Apple Music in November 2022. “But now, 20 years later, it does have a happy ending.”

The couple had two weddings in 2022 – they flew to Las Vegas, stood in line for their licence with four other couples and were wed at A Little White Wedding Chapel.

Lopez said a Bluetooth speaker played their brief march down the aisle, calling it the best night of the couple’s lives.

A month later, they had a much grander wedding at Affleck’s house in Georgia with friends and family.

“Love is beautiful. Love is kind. And it turns out love is patient. Twenty years patient,” wrote Lopez, announcing their quick Las Vegas wedding and signing off as Jennifer Lynn Affleck.

However, reports they had split again started emerging earlier in 2024.

In May, Lopez was asked about the rumours by a journalist during a press conference in Mexico for her Netflix film, Atlas.

“You know better than that,” she responded.

Spokespeople for both have not immediately responded to requests for comment.

Lopez is a singer and actress, known for hits including Love Don’t Cost A Thing, If You Had My Love, I’m Real, and On The Floor, as well as films including Out Of Sight, Maid In Manhattan, and Hustlers.

Affleck is an actor, producer and writer, known for the Oscar-winning films Argo and Good Will Hunting.

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