Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck’s romance – ‘trampled’ feelings, flop movie and reunion

Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck’s romance is the stuff fairytales are made of.

A sizzling romance, an engagement, then a split.

Only for the star-crossed lovers to reunite many years later and tie the knot.

READ MORE: Jennifer Lopez, 53, goes make-up free as she flaunts ‘goddess glow’ transformation

Fans everywhere were thrilled last year when the couple once known as ‘Bennifer’ finally made it down the aisle.

So just what happened the first time around? And how did Ben and Jen find their way back to each other?

Meeting on Gigli

J-Lo met Ben on the set of the romantic comedy Gigli, although things weren’t romantic then as the singer was married to dancer Cris Judd.

The film was released in 2003.

It bombed, but still earned a place in the history books as the movie Bennifer met on.

Dating in the noughties

The couple started stepping out together a bit later, with Jen later saying in an interview that when she started dating Ben she thought to herself: “This is it.”

Their relationship played out in the limelight, with the tabloids obsessed with their Hollywood romance and watching their every move.

Jen later said on The Graham Norton Show that it “was a lot for both of us to be under that type of siege for two years straight”.

Ben appeared in the music video for Jennifer’s song Jenny From The Block, and fans were charmed by the peek at the pair together.

Engagement

In 2002 Jenifer confirmed that she and Ben were engaged after the actor popped the question (apparently at his mum’s house in Boston).

She fessed up during an interview with Diane Sawyer, teasing that they were very “secure” as a couple before Diane came right out and asked if they were getting married.

The star was later seen flashing a huge pink diamond on her ring finger.

Wedding called off

By the summer of 2003, reports started to emerge that the couple were going through a rocky patch.

It was even said that J-Lo wasn’t wearing her ring, although it wasn’t confirmed.

However, the couple remained together and the rumours faded.

But then in September 2003, the pair released a statement just before they were due to tie the knot, saying they had decided to postpone.

They said in a joint statement that they thought all the scrutiny from the press could end up spoiling the big day for everyone.

“Due to the excessive media attention surrounding our wedding, we have decided to postpone the date,” they said.

“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.”

Engagement over and pair move on

Early in 2004, it was confirmed that the engagement was off altogether.

Jen’s camp issued a statement asking for her privacy to be respected, and the pair went their separate ways.

Later that year she married singer Marc Antony and the pair went on to have twins and were together until 2014.

Meanwhile, Ben walked down the aisle with actress Jennifer Garner in 2005 and they welcomed three children together before splitting in 2018.

Reunited

J-Lo was later in a serious relationship with baseball player Alex Rodriguez, and Ben was very cosy with Bond beauty Ana de Armas.

But by 2021 they were both single and it seems the stars finally aligned.

Gossip sites started reporting that the pair had rekindled their romance, around 20 years after they first met.

In July that year, J-Lo made it Instagram official when she shared snaps of them canoodling on a boat.

She said about their rekindled romance: “It’s a beautiful love story that we got a second chance. Before we kind of put [our relationship] out there and we were naïve and it got a little trampled.

“We both were like, ‘Wow, we’re so happy and we don’t want any of that to come into play again.’ We’re older now, we’re smarter, we have more experience, we’re at different places in our lives, we have kids now, and we have to be very conscious of those things.

“We’re so protective because it is such a beautiful time for all of us.”

Vegas wedding

The lovebirds, now in their 50s, finally exchanged vows in a surprise Las Vegas wedding in July 2022.

J-Lo confirmed the lovely news in her newsletter and also shared that she was Mrs Affleck at last.

“They were right when they said, ‘all you need is love’,” she told fans.

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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk