LOS ANGELES (AP) 鈥� After a relationship that spanned two decades, two engagements, two weddings and headlines too numerous to count, has filed for divorce from .
The filing Tuesday in Los Angeles brought to an apparent end a celebrity coupling 鈥� or at least the second installment of it 鈥� that dazzled from the very heights of the pop culture firmament and emblazoned countless tabloid covers. The pair became known, even before such power-couple portmanteaus were ubiquitous, as 鈥淏ennifer.鈥�
Court records showed Lopez filed the petition Tuesday in Los Angeles Superior Court. The news was first reported by the TMZ website. TMZ reported further that Lopez listed the date of separation as April 26, 2024. It added that she did not mention any prenuptial agreement.
Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck鈥檚 marriage
After meeting, falling in love and getting engaged in the early 2000s 鈥� and starring together in 2003's infamous 鈥淕igli鈥� and 2004's 鈥淛ersey Girl鈥� 鈥� the couple parted ways, blaming in part the pressure of the public eye.
and perhaps the skepticism of others, they and married 鈥� twice 鈥� in 2022.
鈥淟ove is beautiful. Love is kind. And it turns out love is patient. Twenty years patient,鈥� wrote Lopez, announcing their first, that July, and signing off as Jennifer Lynn Affleck.
鈥淪tick around long enough and maybe you鈥檒l find the best moment of your life in a drive through in Las Vegas at 12:30 in the morning in the tunnel of love drive through with your kids and the one you鈥檒l spend forever with,鈥� she wrote in her newsletter.
The couple had flown to Las Vegas, lined up with their license with four other couples and were wed just after midnight at A Little White Wedding Chapel, where Lopez said a Bluetooth speaker played their brief march down the aisle. She called it the best night of the couple鈥檚 lives.
A month later, they had a at Affleck鈥檚 house in Georgia, in front of friends and family.
A timeline of 鈥楤ennifer鈥� 2.0
Both of them had been previously married. Affleck, 52, married with whom he shares three children, in 2005. They
Lopez, 55, had been She was briefly married to Ojani Noa from 1997-1998 and to Cris Judd from 2001-2003. She and singer were married for a decade, having wed in 2004, and share 14-year-old twins. She started dating former baseball player in 2017, but the couple
All along, it had been Lopez who was more vocal in describing her and Affleck鈥檚 journey. When asked earlier this year whether she was harder on herself because her relationships had been so high-profile, Lopez agreed.
鈥淥h yeah. 100%. It鈥檚 made me doubt myself and really feel bad about myself at times. Made me feel like I wanted to quit at times. But at the end of the day, I feel like you kind of have to do this thing where you learn how to navigate it,鈥� she 鈥淵ou take the things that could be constructive about that and use it, and the rest you kind of just throw away as kind of like haterations or, you know, other things like that and just be like, 鈥榃hatever. I know who I am, I know what I want to do.鈥� 鈥�
Affleck himself expressed admiration for her self-possession, with the idea that Hollywood was unsure how to capitalize on her wide-ranging talent.
鈥淚 think she鈥檚 in her prime,鈥� Affleck said then. 鈥淪he鈥檚 doing extraordinary work in large measure because she鈥檚 taking that step to take responsibility for what she鈥檚 doing rather than say, 鈥楾his is what I鈥檓 being offered.鈥� 鈥�
Lopez is starring in the upcoming 鈥淯nstoppable,鈥� under Affleck and Matt Damon's Artists Equity banner.
In May, she starred in the Netflix movie 鈥淎tlas.鈥� At the end of the month, she her 2024 North American tour, saying she was 鈥渉eartsick and devastated鈥� to be letting fans down but the move was necessary. 鈥淛ennifer is taking time off to be with her children, family and close friends,鈥� organizers said in a statement.
Lopez described love in her latest album, 鈥楾his is Me... Now鈥�
The tour was to be her first in five years, in support of her first solo album in a decade, and . a fictionalized look at her long love life, and a documentary.
鈥淲hen I was a girl they鈥檇 ask me what I鈥檇 be. A woman in love is what I grew up wantin鈥� to be,鈥� Lopez sang on the title track.
The album, she said, was inspired by her rekindled relationship with Affleck. But the film was more "about your journey as a person, it鈥檚 about one person鈥檚 journey and what it takes to get from heartbreak back to love. Or a hopeless romantic鈥檚 journey in their search for love." In the movie, she played a character called The Artist who, similarly, had decided as a child what she wanted to be when she grew up: 鈥渋n love.鈥�
But the road was rocky. In an early scene, The Artist is on the back of a motorcycle, riding across a beach, with a hunky man, face shielded. Then the motorcycle crashes.
鈥淣ot all love stories have a happy ending,鈥� she says.
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This story corrects the ages of Affleck and Lopez.
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Noveck reported from New York.
Jocelyn Noveck And Andrew Dalton, The Associated Press
