Are Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck really heading for a divorce? A deep dive into the split speculation
Jennifer Lopez was officially in "heaven" on August 20, 2022, when she and Ben Affleck said 'I do' in front of their family and friends almost in front of their family and friends.
"As the sun set behind the live oaks draped in Spanish moss, a warm breeze swept over the lawn where our closest family and friends sat and, at long-last, I started my walk down the stairs that would become the aisle that would lead me toward the rest of my life," the 54-year-old wrote to her followers in an e-Newsletter reflecting on her big day.
Almost two years later – and with the anniversary of their July 16, 2022, Las Vegas elopement imminent – chatter surrounding 'Bennifer' could not be more different from Lopez's gushing wedding recap. And speculation that their life together is ending up to be quite short is only growing after Lopez was seen celebrating the Fourth of July by herself.
Watch the video above.
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Jennifer Lopez celebrated July 4 without Ben Affleck, who was on the opposite side of the country. Instagram: Jennifer Lopez
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Days after returning to Los Angeles from Europe, where she stepped out at Paris Fashion Week by herself, Lopez was seen shopping in the Hamptons in Long Island with her manager Benny Medina.
"Happy Fourth 🌹🤍🇺🇸," Lopez wrote on Instagram alongside a series of snaps taken on the East Coast.
Affleck, meanwhile, was snapped out and about with two of his children on the other side of the country in Los Angeles.
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Lopez and Affleck, pictured here in February, have been weathering split rumours since May. Mario Anzuoni/Reuters via CNN Newsource
The rumour mill is aflutter with split speculation that's being stoked each time they're seen out separately, however, neither Lopez nor Affleck, 51, have publicly uttered a word about a split.
That hasn't stopped fans from looking for any semblance of a clue elsewhere, be it zooming in on Lopez's ring finger (always with her wedding bling on, including in the July 4 photos) or speculating about the reasoning behind the sale of their marital home.
So what, exactly, is going on between Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck? Here's what we know.
Are Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck getting a divorce?
Nothing has been announced by the couple at this stage.
Good old unnamed sources, however, have been hinting to various American media outlets that their relationship had been on the rocks since they hadn't been seen in public together for 47 days in early May.
It's worth noting that Lopez, at that time, had been spending time in New York City promoting her Netflix film Atlas and preparing for the Met Gala – though the fact that Affleck did not attend the latter with Lopez, who was co-chair, Affleck did not attend the latter with Lopez.
Affleck, meanwhile, had been filming The Accountant 2 at the time on the opposite coast, though he stopped in to attend the Roast of Tom Brady by himself hours before the Met Gala started.
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The couple's March 30 outing (pictured) was their last for 47 days, which prompted the rumours. GC Images
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Kim Kardashian was also at the roast, and then the Met Gala on the East Coast hours later.
May 16, 2024 marked the first time the couple had been seen together since March 30, 2024, with the duo stepping out together in New York City.
After that, the couple made a series of low-key appearances in public together – including at Affleck's daughter's high-school graduation on May 30, and at his son's basketball game in Santa Monica on June 2 – but then, according to social media 'sleuths', came the nail in the coffin.
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On June 8, TMZ reported the couple were selling their 12-bedroom, 24-bathroom, 3500-square-metre complex in Beverly Hills. The couple, per the Wall Street Journal, purchased the $US61 million (approx. $91.5 million) property in early 2023, months after their weddings.
That move came after Lopez cancelled her This Is Me... Live tour, which she said was because she is "taking time off to be with her children, family and close friends". (Some sources say it was actually because of poor ticket sales, though cancelled her This Is Me... Live tour).
Those two factors combined only intensified the rumours about marriage troubles between the pair, though neither party have acknowledged the speculation.
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By late June, Lopez was seen on holiday in Italy without Affleck, who was photographed without his wedding band while out in Los Angeles with his daughter.
Unnamed sources told various outlets Affleck moved out of his and Lopez's home while she was away – less than a month after it had been put up for sale – though, of course, neither party have commented.
And now we wait and see.
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