Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck have finally tied the knot. After splitting up in 2004, the stars have found each other once more. It’s an interesting time to look back on their relationship and learn why they split up in the first place. Lopez’s explanation at the time was oddly prescient.
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Ben Affleck And Jennifer Lopez: A Love Story
In 2001, Lopez and Affleck were some of the biggest stars in the world. The two were cast in the Martin Brest caper Gigli. The film became one of the most notorious bombs in Hollywood history, but Lopez and Affleck got along swimmingly. They became friends and started dating the following year.
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It was as if a tornado hit Affleck and Lopez’s lives. For the next three years, neither could go outside or do anything without camera flashes. A wedding date was set in 2003 before being called off due to the relentless media attention. They broke up for good in 2004.
Why Did They Break Up?
Now fast forward to 2016. Affleck’s career had nearly ended before coming back stronger than ever thanks to Gone Baby Gone, The Town, and Argo. He married Jennifer Garner in 2005 and all seemed well. Lopez married Marc Anthony soon after splitting from Affleck, but it wasn’t meant to be. They broke up in 2014. She would start dating Alex Rodriguez soon after she sat down with People.
Lopez was asked about what went wrong with Affleck, and she largely blamed the spotlight. “We didn’t try to have a public relationship,” Lopez said. “We just happened to be together at the birth of the tabloids, and it was like ‘Oh my God.’ It was just a lot of pressure.”
Then, Lopez said something suspiciously prescient: “I think different time different thing, who knows what could’ve happened, but there was a genuine love there.” Tabloids were a different animal in 2003, and neither she nor Affleck really knew how to navigate them. Timing is everything.
Her Prediction Came True
Five years later, the timing finally worked out. A cheating scandal caused Lopez and Rodriguez to split up. She very quickly landed on her feet by hanging out with Affleck. This time, they navigated the tabloids with gusto. That is to say: they paid them no mind. The Jersey Girl packed on the PDA for cameras to see.
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This time, the two were far more secretive. The couple did not inform the public of the wedding date and seemingly rushed to Las Vegas before the media knew a thing about it. Lopez and Affleck never lost any love for each other during their years apart, and Lopez was eerily right: the timing just had to line up.