Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez have not been seen together for 47 days amid reports of tension
Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez have not been photographed together for 47 days amid tabloid rumours of tension in their marriage.
The A-list couple were last photographed in public on 30 March, holding hands as they walked together throughout the streets of New York City.
The 54-year-old “I’m Real” singer has recently spent quite a bit of time in the city. Not only has she been busy promoting her new Netflix film, Atlas, but also walking the Met Steps as one of the co-chairs for this year’s Met Gala.
Lopez also had her hands full filming Kiss of the Spiderwoman, a feature film of the 1993 Broadway musical adaptation based on Manuel Puig’s trailblazing 1976 novel, which co-stars Andor’s Diego Luna.
Meanwhile, the Oscar-winning director, 51, is reportedly busy on the West Coast filming The Accountant 2 as well as attending the Roast of Tom Brady on 5 May. With both of them making public appearances solo, it has led to rumours running rampant.
On Wednesday, In Touch claimed an “insider” told them that “it’s over” between the pair.
“They waited almost two decades to get back together, but in the end, they just couldn’t make it work,” the source claimed. “They’ll never stop loving each other, but she can’t control him, and he can’t change her. There’s no way it could have lasted.”
The source told the tabloid magazine that Affleck has moved out of their lavish home to “focus on his work and his kids.”
Meanwhile, TMZ is also speculating that Affleck is staying at his Brentwood residence permanently, reportedly supporting their claims with a photograph of him speeding away from his home.
The famous pair - who notably were one of the first power couples to receive a portmanteau, Bennifer - have had a heavily chronicled public romance, which began in 2001 when they met on the set of the critically panned Gigli.
For 18 months, the couple became an object of public fascination. Tabloids at the time heavily covered their every move as they went on to star together in another movie, Jersey Girl, and film the singer’s iconic music video for “Jenny on the Block.”
However, the public’s obsession with their romance would later turn into scrutiny once Gigli was released to middling reactions. The backlash ultimately strained their relationship and played a part in them postponing their September 2003 wedding days before it was set to take place due to the “excessive media attention.”
Four months later, the pair went their separate ways, but they remained in touch and continued to speak highly of each other. In an appearance on the TV show Live in 2008, when Affleck was asked about how he felt about the relationship in hindsight, he noted that neither of them predicted the intense attention they ultimately received. He added, “We fell in love, we were excited and maybe too accessible.”
Later in 2017, Lopez would go on to agree with Affleck, telling Vanity Fair she felt “eviscerated” by the tabloid coverage throughout their whirlwind romance.
Both of them would enter different high-profile relationships, with Lopez marrying Puerto Rican singer Marc Anthony just five months after her breakup with Affleck. The pair were married for seven years and had two children - twins Emme and Max, 16 - before separating in 2011 and officially divorcing in 2014.
Meanwhile, a year after his breakup with Lopez, the Gone Girl actor went on to marry Jennifer Garner. They were together for ten years and shared three children - daughters Violet, 18, and Fin, 15, and son Samuel, 12 - before divorcing in 2014.
The power couple rekindled their romance in 2021. The following year, they eloped in Las Vegas in July before hosting a lavish ceremony at Affleck’s 87-acre compound outside of Savannah, Georgia, in August.
