Jennifer Lopez finally confirmed the rumors that have swirled for months when she filed to divorce her husband Ben Affleck on Tuesday.
The shocking news came just over two years after the 55-year-old singer and actress and the 52-year-old actor and filmmaker tied the knot in Las Vegas in July of 2022.
But the two — who will have to agree on a way to divide their $640 million net worth without a prenuptial agreement — have been swamped by signs of trouble in paradise for a considerable time before Jennifer decided to make their split official.
In the final months of their marriage, they had been seen in increasingly awkward and tense public encounters that, in hindsight, signaled that their marriage was potentially doomed.
Below, DailyMail.com takes a look back through the sad final days of JLo and Ben’s marriage to highlight the signs that they were cruising toward divorce.
Jennifer Lopez finally confirmed the rumors that have swirled for months when she filed to divorce her husband Ben Affleck on Tuesday; pictured together in May 2023 in LA
Now, DailyMail.com takes a look back at all the signs that the couple were cruising toward divorce; seen May 2023 in LA
Ben slams a car door on Jennifer
In May of 2023, fans of the couple got a surprisingly unvarnished look at the apparent tensions between them during a public outing.
The couple were out and about in Los Angeles and had an awkward moment as they got back in their car.
First, he opened Jennifer’s passenger door for her in a seemingly chivalrous display.
But then the stone-faced Ben — who fans thought looked ‘stressed’ in the moment — let his arm fly and slammed the door shut behind his wife.
She was already safely in the car and out of the way, but the display shocked and disturbed some of JLo and Ben’s fans.
It’s not clear if there were tensions that day between the two, or if other factors led him to get ‘stressed,’ but the two didn’t betray any sign of tension earlier in the day when they were seen holding hands as they walked toward the car, with Ben sporting a big grin as he carried a large iced coffee, while Jennifer sipped on a smaller hot drink.
In May 2023, Ben shocked fans when he was seen opening the car door for Jennifer, but then roughly slamming it behind her
More confusing was the fact that they were seen holding hands while Ben grinned earlier that day
Moving out
A source who spoke with In Touch said Ben had already moved out of the $60 million home he shares with Lopez.
The mother-of-two was seen house hunting in Beverly Hills without Ben on Tuesday.
‘He’s focusing on his work and his kids now. Ben already moved out and they’ll likely have to sell the dream house they spent two years searching for,’ the insider went on to say.
‘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.’
It has only been a year since Lopez and Affleck bought the $60.85 million, 46,000-square foot abode they currently own.
The home — referred to as the ‘Wallingford estate’ — sits on a five-acre promontory and boasts 12 bedrooms and 24 bathrooms.
The duo married in a Las Vegas ceremony in July 2022, followed by a lavish wedding at his Georgia estate on August 2022 (pictured)
Solo appearances
Fans have pointed out that the pair have been spending a lot of time apart lately, and attending events without each other.
Jennifer was pictured stepping out without husband Ben Affleck on Wednesday, amid rumors that the Hollywood couple are headed for a split.
The Hustlers star was seen in a casual sporty look as she arrived at a dance studio in Los Angeles accompanied by her crew.
The Gone Girl actor was not present for the outing.
Lopez was solo for her co-chairing duties at the glitzy Met Gala in New York on May 6, with many surprised that Affleck skipped the event.
Ben is said to have been working on The Accountant 2, but the source said he ‘decided to call it quits’ on his marriage to the singer.
Meanwhile Affleck was on his own while appearing at The Roast of Tom Brady on May 5th.
During their last outing together the pair appeared strained, with neither cracking a smile as they grabbed lunch at Cecconi’s.
Jennifer Lopez once again stepped out without husband Ben Affleck on Wednesday, amid rumors that the Hollywood couple are headed for a split
The pair have also appeared tense during previous outings, including when they were embroiled in a heated discussion during their St Barts getaway.
Just months earlier in September, Jennifer was seen looking very tense as she sat in the passenger seat of a car alongside Ben as they drove around Los Angeles.
The two had previously raised eyebrows when they were seen attending the premiere of Jennifer’s film The Mother in LA.
In an awkward moment while posing on the red carpet, Jennifer had a frown on her face and was gesticulating at her husband, who looked angry, though a lipreader later clarified that it was far from an argument.
After they were snapped having their apparently tense conversation, they soon reverted to Hollywood mode with beaming grins and stage-worthy kisses.
A lipreader confirmed that Jennifer asked Ben if her low-cut top was ‘showing too much,’ pushing him to respond that it looked fine.
Later, when the couple managed to find their right pose, the Air actor asked his wife to get a little closer, then he leaned into her ear and said, ‘don’t worry, babe’.
To which Jennifer seemingly responded saying, ‘come close to me’.
Tongues first started wagging when the pair appeared to have a tense exchange at the 2023 Grammy Awards in February, though they both later brushed it off .
Ben’s forlorn expression saw him become a meme on the night and a video of Jennifer seemingly snapping at him spread across social media.
Lopez was solo for her co-chairing duties at the glitzy Met Gala in New York on May 6, with many surprised that Affleck skipped the event
Tongues first started wagging when the pair appeared to have a tense exchange at the 2023 Grammy Awards in February, though they both later brushed it off
The Greatest Love Story Never Told documentary strain
Jennifer’s decision to release her Amazon Prime documentary, ‘The Greatest Love Story Never Told,’ in February, which chronicled her love story with Ben, seemingly put a strain on the pair’s marriage.
The candid show was the third part of her very public $20 million tribute to Ben, which also consisted of ‘This Is Me… Now: A Love Story’, a semi autobiographical ‘musical rom-com action sci-fi’ film and her single, This Is Me… Now.
The source said: ‘Ben would never try to stifle [Jennifer]’s dreams or tell her she can’t do something that advances her career, even though she can be quite controlling of him.’
They detailed the highs and lows of their rekindled romance in the new documentary, with Ben revealing he initially asked his wife to keep their relationship offline when they decided to give things another ago.
While navigating their reconciliation, two decades following their first engagement, the two-time Oscar winner admitted he had zero interest in becoming a fixture on his wife’s social media accounts.
‘Getting back together, I said, ‘Listen, one of the things I don’t want is a relationship on social media,’ the actor recalled.
‘Then I sort of realized it’s not a fair thing to ask. It’s sort of like, you’re gonna marry a boat captain and you go, “Well, I don’t like the water.”‘
He continued: ‘We’re just two people with different kinds of approaches trying to learn to compromise.’
Jennifer’s decision to release her Amazon Prime documentary, ‘The Greatest Love Story Never Told,’ in February, which chronicled her love story with Ben, seemingly put a strain on the pair’s marriage
The love letters
Ben didn’t want his love letters to Jennifer being made public in her new film The Greatest Love Story Never Told – but insiders have claimed it wasn’t because he had kept them a secret from his ex-wife.
Jennifer Garner ‘s fans were left outraged after Affleck, 51, revealed he clung onto his correspondence with Lopez during his 13-year marriage – and later had the letters and emails bound into a book to gift the Jenny from the Block singer when they reunited in 2021.
But insiders have quashed any notion that the admission shocked Garner, insisting she is happy for Affleck and Lopez – who she is friends with – and is also at peace in her relationship with John Miller.
‘Ben would love for the outside world not to know about his love letters, but he is a romantic, and as much as he loved Jennifer, he never got over JLo,’ a source told DailyMail.com.
‘Ben keeps his memories, whether it is from movies he worked on or family and relationship moments, he always has what the kids call ‘receipts’.’
They continued: ‘No one is surprised by this at all. Jennifer is OK with it, JLo obviously loves it and everyone notices that all this was meant to be.
‘Jennifer and Ben have their wonderful children and are both enjoying the relationships they have always wanted to be in.’
Another source said: ‘JLo and Jennifer have a good relationship and they have become friends and to think that there is any bad feelings on Jennifer’s part about Ben holding onto JLo’s letters is just ridiculous.
‘They have a blended family and Jennifer happily moved on a long time ago with John and the four of them have spent time together on multiple occasions.’
Ben Affleck didn’t want his love letters to Jennifer Lopez being made public in her new film The Greatest Love Story Never Told – but insiders have claimed it wasn’t because he had kept them a secret from his ex-wife
The insider explained that Garner was always aware of Affleck’s fond feelings for Lopez.
‘Jennifer knew going into her marriage how Ben felt about JLo and it was not a secret,’ they continued.
‘JLo and Jen have a lot of respect for each other and Jennifer has told JLo how happy she is that she has come back into Ben’s life because she can actually keep him in check. JLo refuses to let him slip into his old ways.’
During the documentary, Lopez stated: ‘This book is a book Ben gave me on our first Christmas back together. It is every letter and every mail that we wrote each other from 20 years ago and today.’
She highlighted one note that read: ‘The Greatest Love Story Never Told by Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck 2001-2010… and counting…’