The past two years has seen us feeling some real noughties nostalgia, thanks to Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck rekindling their relationship after almost two decades apart. That's right, time machines do exist, Bennifer is back.
Jen and Ben were the couple back in the early noughties and we were all devastated when their relationship ended in 2004. Over the years they both moved on with other people and it looked as though there would be no chance of a reconciliation. But somewhere, somehow these two have officially found themselves back together 20 years on.
Here's a detailed look back at their relationship history starting with the most recent update, from meeting on the set of Gigli to calling off their wedding with just a few days notice, to officially tying the knot in 2022!
21 August 2023 - Jennifer shares unseen photos to mark the couple's one year anniversary
Time really does fly by, as Jennifer and Ben are celebrating their one year wedding anniversary and Jennifer took to Instagram to mark the occasion.
In the post Jennifer shared two previously unseen pictures of herself and Ben on their wedding day, where they look incredibly loved up and captioned the post with lyrics from the song 'Dear Ben Part II'. All Bennifer stans will know the original 'Dear Ben' was released in 2002 when the couple were first together.
The caption is as follows: "One year ago today 🤍 …/ Dear Ben,/ Sitting here alone/Looking at my ring ring/Feeling overwhelmed/It makes me wanna sing sing/How did we end up here/Without a rewind/Oh my/This is my life…"
So cute!
Here's the rest of J Lo and Ben's relationship timeline...
2001: Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck meet during filming for Gigli, a film that would come out two years later to a not-so successful reception, scoring a rare 2.5 on IMDb. But as least something happy came out of it, with Jen and Ben clearly striking up connection, although we don't know when exactly they got together.
At the time of filming Jen was still married to her second husband Cris Judd but they divorced in 2002 at which point Ben and Jen officially went public with their relationship.
2002: People went completely wild when Jen released the video for her new single 'Jenny from the Block' and it featured some pretty heavy PDA from the couple. The song references the media obsession with their relationship and shows clips of them kissing along with some staged paparazzi footage of the pair sunbathing on a yacht while Ben strokes Jen's bum. It was pretty scandalous news at the time.
November 2002: During an interview with Diane Sawyer in November 2002 Jen revealed that she and Ben were engaged and debuted a huge 6.1-carat pink diamond ring from Harry Winston which reportedly cost Affleck a cool £1.8 million.
July 2003: This was the period that gave us one of the most iconic Bennifer pictures going. At the premier for Gigli in July 2003 (you'll recognise the outfits) Ben and Jennifer walked the red carpet together doing lots of PDA and generally looking very affectionate towards each other. However, in one now very famous moment, Ben looked away just as the pair kissed, earning this series of photos a place in pop culture history as the 'Ben Affleck wandering eye pictures'.
September 2003: After being engaged for almost a year the couple call off their wedding just a few days before it was due to go ahead, citing the overwhelming press attention as the reason for the postponement.
"Due to the excessive media attention surrounding our wedding, we have decided to postpone the date," the couple said in a joint statement. "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."
January 2004: Just a few months after calling off their wedding Ben and Jen call time on their relationship. Although we aren't given a reason for the split a spokesperson for Jen officially confirms the news in a statement to MTV.
"I am confirming the report that Jennifer Lopez has ended her engagement to Ben Affleck," the statement said. "At this difficult time, we ask that you respect her privacy."
March 2004: Just two months after the split is announced, the former couple's new film Jersey Girl is released. The project was filmed back in 2003 and was slated for release that same year, but was unfortunately pushed back to early 2004 making for quite bad timing.
Even more awkwardly the film, which follows a man (Affleck) trying to rebuild his life after the death of his wife (Lopez), was not a huge success at the box office.
June 2004: In June of that same year Jen married longtime friend Marc Anthony in a move that surprised fans. Four years later in 2008 the pair welcomed twins Emme Maribel Muñiz and Maximilian David Muñiz.
2005: Around the time Jen and Marc got together Ben started dating Pearl Harbor co-star Jennifer Garner and the pair tied the knot in a private ceremony in June 2005. They went on to have three children together, Violet, Seraphina and Samuel.
2011: After seven years together Jen and Marc Anthony announced their separation in July 2011. He filed for divorce in 2012 and the divorce was finalised in 2014. In her 2014 book True Love, Jen detailed how moving on with Marc was "a Band-aid on the cut" left by her split from Ben Affleck.
"Ben and I split up at the moment when I thought we were committing to each other forever, it was my first real heartbreak, it felt like my heart had been torn out of my chest... I sought out comfort in another person, tried to find someone who could make me feel loved and wanted in my loneliest hour.
"Marc came back into my life three days after I should have been at the altar saying ‘I do’ to another man... Thinking back, maybe deep down I knew that this was a Band-Aid on the cut, that my wound hadn’t been stitched or healed. But I pushed all that to the back of my mind. Because life takes unpredictable twists and turns, right? And you’ve just got to go with what you feel is best in the moment."
June 2015: Ben and Jennifer Garner announce their separation in 2015, with their divorce being finalised in October 2018.
March 2017: Jen goes public with her new relationship with Alex Rodriguez. A source close to Lopez tells People: "They have been dating for a few weeks. She seems excited. He has been around her family and she really likes that he is a dad. She is aware, though, that he is a ladies' man and is being cautious. For now, it's just fun."
This 'ladies man' reputation comes from Rodriguez's rumoured high-profile relationships, before Jenny from the Block, including Kate Hudson, Cameron Diaz and Madonna.
2021: Just a few months after Ben splits from Ana de Armas after a year together, A-Rod and Jen break up, calling off their engagement and announcing the news in a joint statement in which the state they are "better as friends."
May 2021: After 17 years apart Jen and Ben are spotted returning from a skiing holiday in Montana together. The pair were photographed in a car together after landing back in LA, by the Daily Mail, who write that they spent some private time together at a resort in Montana where Ben is believed to own a chalet ex-wife, Jennifer Garner, and their three children, Violet, Seraphina and Samuel).
25 May 2021: Reconciliation rumours between Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck have been swirling for a couple of weeks, when he's spotted wearing a watch she gave him in 2002.
After Jen and Ben were seen on a skiing holiday in early May, he's later photographed wearing the same watch Lopez famously bought for him in music video, 'Jenny From the Block.'
Affleck wore the watch all the time back in the day, and seems to have resurrected it almost two decades later, thanks to new pap pics. This is almost too nostalgic for words.
15th June 2021:
Well, I guess things don't get much more official than this. Just a few weeks after the reconciliation rumours began Jen and Ben were spotted sharing a steamy kiss, and the whole thing was caught on video.
During dinner with her kids at Nobu in Malibu the pair were spotted sharing quite the PDA; kissing and cuddling, with Ben even whispering in Jennifer's ear at one point. Sure, we don't want to jump to conclusions but, the video and accompanying pictures - which were published by Page Six - seem to be fairly good confirmation that Bennifer is officially back.
July 2021: HUGE, absolutely ginormous developments in Jen and Ben's rekindled romance, not only did the pair go in for an Instagram PDA of Kourtney & Travis proportions (therefore confirming the relationship), but, they also recreated their infamous bum-grab yacht pics from her "Jenny From the Block" music video. Things are getting spicy!
We've quite literally been transported back two decades by the recent steamy pap pics of Jen and Ben sunbathing on a yacht together in St Tropez. The couple recently set off on their Mediterranean voyage to celebrate her 52nd birthday, and in pictures published by TMZ it looks like they're throwing it right back to 2002, by recreating the iconic yacht pictures that were so scandalous at the time.
And if all that wasn't enough the pair took their relationship Instagram official that same day. She shared a series of pictures on Instagram ending with one very steamy PDA pic, along with the caption, "… what it do …💗 📸:."
September 2021: It's just like old times! Ben and Jen treated us to *all* the PDAs as they made their first red carpet appearance as a couple (since getting back together, that is) at Venice Film Festival. Attending the screening for Ben's new film The Last Duel, the pair seemed to have reclaimed their status as Hollywood's golden couple, with Jennifer wearing a white plunge dress by Georges Hobeika, and plenty of Cartier jewellery. I mean, they literally haven't aged a day?
April 2022: We're having a major déjà vu moment: Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck are engaged! Yep, you read that right, Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck have plans to marry - 19 years after calling off their wedding just days before the ceremony in 2003.
Jennifer teased the news on her Twitter and Instagram with an *emosh* clip where she says she has a "very exciting and special story to share" alongside the caption "Major announcement!!!!" before directing followers to sign up to her newsletter via OnTheJLo.com to get access to the news.
The announcement waiting for fans came in the form of a video of Jennifer gazing down lovingly at an engagement ring (which looks stunning, btw) and crying tears of joy. Hand me the tissues! Since then, she's added a diamond ring to her Twitter handle and the news has been confirmed to People. We're so happy for these two.
8 May 2022:
Although Mother's Day has been and gone here in the UK, over in the US it's celebrated in May, and J Lo marked the special occasion in the sweetest way – by sharing the ultimate throwback video of her and Ben at a basketball game in LA's Staples Center.
When the camera comes in their direction, the giddy couple use the opportunity to give their mums a shout out, with Ben saying, "Happy Mother's Day!" before Jennifer adds, "Happy Mother's Day, mommy! I love you!". The commentator then chimes in with "Hollywood's hottest couple, Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez!".
Mad how some things just, err, never change then?
18th July 2022: Stop everything because J Lo and Ben are officially married!
Almost 20 years after their 2004 split, Bennifer have *finally* tied the knot, with Jennifer also taking on a new married name: Jennifer Lynn Affleck.
The singer shared the happy news via an Instagram photo and blog post, featuring a sweet pic showing her in bed wearing her new wedding ring. In an accompanying blog post on her website OnThe JLo, the 52-year-old wrote, "We did it. Love is beautiful. Love is kind. And it turns out love is patient. Twenty years patient." You guys!
Jennifer went on to explain that she and Ben flew to Vegas to get their marriage licence, sharing more sweet reflections on their relationship. She wrote, "They were right when they said, 'all you need is love'. We are so grateful to have that in abundance, a new wonderful family of five amazing children and a life that we have never had more reason to look forward to... Love is a great thing, maybe the best of things-and worth waiting for."
August 2022:
After their Las Vegas wedding the couple had a second ceremony in Georgia at Ben Affleck's estate in Savannah.
According to a report in Page Six, all the couple's wedding guests, including Matt Damon and wife Luciana Barroso, wore white.
Shortly after their second wedding the couple embarked on a honeymoon to Italy where they visited Lake Como and Milan.
8th November 2022:
A few months after their weddings, Jennifer revealed she took Ben's last name because, however people will still know her as Jennifer Lopez.
During an interview with Vogue, Jennifer explained her decision saying: "People are still going to call me Jennifer Lopez. But my legal name will be Mrs. Affleck because we’re joined together. We’re husband and wife. I’m proud of that. I don’t think that’s a problem."
When she was asked if the couple ever considered Ben taking Jennifer's last name she laughed and said: "No! It's not traditional. It doesn't have any romance to it."
28th November 2022:
During an interview with Zane Lowe, Jennifer spoke about her upcoming album This is Me...Now and shared how her breakup with Ben in 2004 was her 'biggest heartbreak'.
"It was so painful after we broke up," she said. "Once we called off that wedding 20 years ago, it was the biggest heartbreak of my life. I honestly felt like I was going to die. It sent me on a spiral for the next 18 years where I just couldn't get it right. But now, 20 years later, it does have a happy ending. It has the most would-never-happen-in-Hollywood ending."
Jennifer went onto add Ben is the biggest supporter of her music and loves her new album, which features a song called 'Dear Ben Part II'. As all Bennifer Stans will know in 2002 Jennifer originally released a song called 'Dear Ben' about Ben when the couple were first together.
January 2023:
Jennifer revealed the couple and their children have moved into together following the couple's wedding.
During an appearance on the Today Show, Jennifer said: "We moved in together, the kids moved in together, so it's been like a really kind of emotional transition. But at the same time … all your dreams coming true, it's just been a phenomenal year."
February 2023:
In a now famous appearance, the couple attended the 65th Grammy Awards together.
Ben ended up going viral online, after many viewers of the show thought he looked "bored" during the ceremony.
However, Jennifer joined in with memes and shared a photo of Ben in the movie AIR, where he also looks rather down, and hilariously captioned it: "My husband's happy face."
14th February 2023:
On Valentine's Day Jennifer revealed she and Ben got tattoos to celebrate their love for each other.
In a very loved up post to celebrate Valentine's Day, Jennifer shared one picture of herself with an infinity sign tattoo that appears to have Jennifer and Ben's name written in a cursive style font.
She shared another photo, which appears to be Ben's co-ordinating tattoo, which has two arrows crossing each other and the letter 'J' above the arrows and the letter 'B' below them.
June 2023:
In news no one was expecting Jennifer marked Father's Day with a half naked picture of Ben Affleck on her Instagram.
Sharing the naked selfie Ben appears to have taken in a mirror, Jennifer captioned the post: "Daddy Appreciation Post ✨ Happy Father’s Day Papa. And Happy Father’s Day to all the amazing Papas out there!! We love you and appreciate you more than you will ever know 🤍."
Within the post she also shared a few loved up selfies of herself and Ben. We love to see it.
