Separation: “Bennifer”-Out: Jennifer Lopez files for divorce

The “Bennifer” love story is doomed. Even at the second attempt, the US singer Jennifer Lopez and the US actor Ben Affleck are not happy for long. Lopez (55) is divorcing Affleck (52) after two years of marriage. According to consistent media reports, she filed for divorce on Tuesday (local time) at the court in Los Angeles. Lopez has given April 26 as the date of the separation, as “Variety” and “TMZ.com” reported, citing the documents.

Lopez is calling it quits on a day that has a very special meaning for the couple. Exactly two years ago, on August 20, 2022, they held a big wedding celebration at Affleck’s estate in the US state of Georgia. At the time, Lopez posted photos of their “big day,” a dream wedding with a white veil, designer wedding dresses and fireworks.

In July, they had already made it official in the casino city of Las Vegas in the US state of Nevada. There, they officially exchanged vows in a small wedding chapel. They had just made it to the Little White Wedding Chapel at midnight, Lopez posted on her social media, along with photos, videos and a detailed description of their “best wedding imaginable” – signed with the name Jennifer Lynn Affleck.

They were a couple over 20 years ago, but it didn’t last long. The “Bennifer” romance lasted 18 months until their first engagement was broken off in January 2004. They made two films together – “Gigli” and “Jersey Girl” – but both were box office flops. They were constantly in the spotlight and hounded by the tabloid media.

Lopez was already married twice before her first relationship with Affleck – from 1997 to 1998 to waiter Ojani Noa and from 2001 to 2003 to dancer Cris Judd. Shortly after the end of “Bennifer” she married singer Marc Anthony in 2004, which went well for ten years. They are parents of twins Emme and Max. Affleck was married to actress Jennifer Garner from 2005 to 2018 and they have three children.

Lopez proudly shared her second engagement to Affleck in April 2022 with her fans. His proposal was “not fancy at all,” “but the most romantic thing I could have ever imagined,” Lopez wrote at the time in her newsletter “On the JLo.” “Saturday night, while I was in my favorite place in the world (in the bubble bath), my sweetheart got down on one knee and proposed to me. I was completely taken aback, looking into his eyes, smiling and crying at the same time, trying to comprehend the fact that this was happening again after 20 years.” Of course she said yes.

After her whirlwind wedding in Las Vegas, things looked good for a long time, at least on the outside. Last February, the Latina singer released her ninth studio album, “This Is Me… Now,” with 13 songs that are almost exclusively about her love for Affleck. She also released the film “This Is Me… Now: A Love Story,” a portrait of her life and career.

But in recent months, the negative headlines have been piling up. At the end of May, Lopez canceled her US tour planned for the summer – on the grounds that she needed “time off to be with her children, family and close friends,” the musician said in a newsletter.

Lopez went on a promotional tour for her new film “Atlas” alone and celebrated her 55th birthday in July – without Affleck – in the Hamptons near New York, as US media reported. The actor and director was filming in California. The shared luxury villa in Beverly Hills is for sale, and Affleck has bought his own house, the magazine “People” learned in July.

The separation now raises further questions. Did the couple sign a prenuptial agreement? How will they divide their millions in assets? At least there will be no custody battle. The “Bennifer” love story has not produced any children together.