Entertainment

Why ‘Bennifer’ is back in the headlines

Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez were one of the most talked about couples in Hollywood during the early 2000s.
Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez were one of the most talked about couples in Hollywood during the early 2000s. Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez were one of the most talked about couples in Hollywood during the early 2000s.

Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez’s relationship has returned to the headlines almost 20 years after their split.

The couple – christened ‘Bennifer’ by the media – got engaged in 2002 and were one of the most talked about couples in Hollywood before they broke up in 2004.

They had delayed their wedding in 2003 due to excessive media attention.

Chart-topping singer and award-winning actress Lopez, 51, later said the split from Batman actor Affleck, 48, was “probably my first big heartbreak”.

Jennifer Lopez
Jennifer Lopez Jennifer Lopez announced her split from Alex Rodriguez in April (Jennifer Graylock/PA)

Affleck has since been married to actress Jennifer Garner, with whom he has three children. They divorced in 2018 after 13 years of marriage.

Lopez’s relationships include her 10-year marriage to singer Marc Anthony. The former couple, who divorced in 2014, have twins together.

Fans have been reminiscing about the ‘Bennifer’ romance since Lopez announced her split from former professional baseball star Alex Rodriguez, 45, in April.

Affleck and Lopez were reportedly spotted together in Montana earlier this month and are said to have stayed at an exclusive resort.

The former couple are known to be on good terms and in April Affleck paid tribute to his ex-partner in a magazine profile dedicated to her career.

He told InStyle Lopez is “the hardest-working person I’ve come across in this business,” before praising her famously youthful appearance.

Ben Affleck
Ben Affleck Ben Affleck was engaged to Jennifer Lopez in the early 2000s (PA)

“Where are you keeping the fountain of youth?” Affleck asked. “Why do you look the same as you did in 2003 and it kind of looks like I’m in my 40s…at best?”

Lopez and Rodriguez first started dating in 2017 and announced their engagement in 2019 after he proposed in the Bahamas.

Rodriguez was filmed by a reporter in Miami, Florida, and asked about Lopez’s friendship with Oscar-winner Affleck, who is famously a supporter of the Boston Red Sox baseball team.

“Go Yankees,” Rodriguez said, referencing the New York team for which he played.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Institute Benefit Gala – New York
The Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Institute Benefit Gala – New York Alex Rodriguez and Jennifer Lopez began dating in 2017 and were engaged two years later (Aurore Marechal/PA)

Rodriguez is not the only celebrity reacting to ‘Bennifer’.

Hollywood actor Matt Damon, Affleck’s close friend who won an Oscar with him for their Good Will Hunting screenplay in 1998, was asked about the former couple.

“There’s not enough liquor in the world for you to get me to say something about that,” he told US show Today this week.

However, he added: “It’s a fascinating story. I hope it’s true. I love them both. I hope it’s true. That would be awesome.”