Bennifer is back: what’s the story behind J-Lo and Ben Affleck’s reunion?

The rumours are true: Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck are back on the cards after being papped kissing and canoodling in Malibu. Jessica Benjamin explains why it’s such a big deal
Call me Jennifer Affleck! J.Lo changes her name after 'tying the knot' with Ben Affleck in Las Vegas
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Jessica Benjamin15 June 2021

Low rise jeans, rose-hued sunglasses, tiny baguette bags; in case you hadn’t heard, the noughties have very much come full circle. And the latest to join the back-with-a-bang club are early aughties icons Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck (a.k.a. Bennifer), recently spotted together at Affleck’s hideaway cabin in Montana, at a beach house in Miami and kissing at Lopez’s sister’s 50th birthday in Malibu.

After their very public relationship, engagement and subsequent break up way back in 2004, the duo have reunited after both coming out of long term relationships – essentially, the biggest (and greatest) backslide of all time.

Bennifer, it’s been a while. And as any nostalgic millennial will admit, this reunion is something of a balm for the turbulent year we’ve all had – so just how did it happen?

Let’s start at the beginning: namely, the advent of the media frenzy that would soon become their relationship. After meeting on the set of Gigli in 2002 (not heard of it? Don’t bother.), Affleck avidly pursued Lopez. He wrote her letters, she wrote him songs, they appeared together on a yacht for the ‘Jenny from the Block’ video where he stroked her bum and undid her bikini top… all the hallmarks of a fairytale romance.

Bennifer in 2003
AP

The engagement followed soon after, yet just four days before their September wedding, cold feet struck, with ‘excessive media attention’ named as the culprit. It was downhill from there, and they parted ways in January 2004, with J-Lo describing it as her ‘first real heartbreak’.

Fast forward 17 years, and the timing for their reunion had to be perfect. Affleck has recently split from his girlfriend of one year, Ana de Armas, whilst J-Lo called time on her romance with Alex Rodriguez after four years of dating, claiming they were ‘better off as friends’ – we won’t mention the claims of infidelity, then.

Bennifer in the Jenny from the Block music video
Jenny from Block/Vevo/YouTube

And whilst these recent relationships are one thing, both sides of Bennifer have had their fair share of serious romantic drama (and divorces) since they parted ways in 2004. Soon after their split, Affleck met his wife of 12 years and the other Jen in his life, Jennifer Garner, whilst Lopez soon got hitched to Latino mega-star Marc Anthony in June of 2004 and stayed with him for 10 years.

So, there’s no shortage of jilted exes in the story – what’s the sitch now? It’s as glam as you might expect. After being spotted in LA together, they then boarded a private jet together to hole up for a week in the uber-luxurious Yellowstone Club, where Affleck owns a chalet. Sure, he used to holiday there with his ex-wife and their three children, but a man’s got to get his money’s worth! The pair have since been spotted together at a house the singer is renting in Miami and, most recently, kissing at J. Lo’s sister’s (Linda) 50th birthday bash at Nobu in Malibu.

According to reports in TMZ, the Bennifer have been back in touch for months, with Affleck first ‘flooding’ the actress with emails to tell her how beautiful she looked as she filmed Shotgun Wedding in the Dominican Republic. For her recent InStyle cover shoot, Affleck was quoted as saying about the singer: “I thought I had a good work ethic, but I was completely humbled and blown away by what she was committed to doing day in and day out, the seriousness in which she took her work, the quiet and dedicated way she went about accomplishing her goals, and then how she would go back and redouble her efforts,” he said. “She remains, to this day, the hardest-working person I’ve come across in this business. She has great talent, but she has also worked very hard for her success, and I’m so happy for her that she seems, at long last, to be getting the credit she deserves.”

Ben Affleck relationship retrospective

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Whilst the two haven’t officially confirmed anything yet, fans are watching and waiting for the moment they do. Your move, Bennifer.

Click through the gallery at the top of this page for a dose of noughties Bennifer nostalgia.

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