Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck: What to Know About Their Relationship

The early 2000s are back in more ways than one, because Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck have been spotted spending time together in the wake of Lopez’s split from Alex Rodriguez. The pair, originally nicknamed “Bennifer” by the media when they were together, were together for around two years and were engaged before calling off their wedding.

Since then, they’ve remained friendly, complimenting each other in interviews on multiple occasions. Earlier this month, they rekindled romance rumors when Affleck was spotted going to Lopez’s home in Los Angeles, and they were recently seen together in Montana. Read on for a full history of this famous couple.

December 2001

Lopez and Affleck met while working on their film Gigli, which infamously went on to bomb at the box office. In September 2002, the couple filmed another movie together, Jersey Girl. When they met, Lopez was married to husband Chris Judd, and after she and Judd divorced in 2003, she went public with her relationship with Affleck.

“We’ve talked about this so many times, and we talked about how people kind of see him with … one type of person and me with another type of person, and the two of us together is like, ‘How did that happen?’” Lopez told Diane Sawyer in 2002. “And how we’re probably more alike and from the same kind of background … same kind of upbringing and same kind of family and same kind of house.”

November 2002

Affleck proposed to Lopez with a 6.1-carat pink diamond solitaire from Harry Winston that he reportedly chose himself. Lopez told Sawyer that the proposal was “traditional, but also in a very spectacular way, as of course Ben would do it … it was very, very beautiful.” That same month, Affleck starred in Lopez’s music video for her song “Jenny From the Block.”

September 2003

Days before their wedding, the couple called off the ceremony in a joint statement, citing the press frenzy surrounding their relationship. At the time, they were one of the most popular celebrity couples in Hollywood and were constantly hounded by photographers.

“Due to the excessive media attention surrounding our wedding, we have decided to postpone the date,” they said. “When we found ourselves seriously contemplating hiring three separate ‘decoy brides’ at three different locations, we realized that something was awry. We began to feel that the spirit of what should have been the happiest day of our lives could be compromised. We felt what should have been a joyful and sacred day could be spoiled for us, our families and our friends.”

January 2004

Lopez’s rep confirmed that their pair had split with a statement reading, “I am confirming the report that Jennifer Lopez has ended her engagement to Ben Affleck. At this difficult time, we ask that you respect her privacy.” Affleck’s rep said, “I am not going to confirm anything about his personal life. We don’t want to get dragged into quicksand. Everybody wants a war. It’s not happening from our side.”

Speaking to HuffPost Live in 2015, Lopez reflected on that period in her life and admitted that it was difficult. “[Gigli] was a very badly reviewed film,” she said. “I was in a high-profile relationship at the time that fell apart in a really bad way, and so the kind of mix of those two things and the tabloid press had just come into existence at the time, so I was like a poster child for that moment. I was in the tabloids every other week about how my life was falling apart. It was a tough time.”

February 2020

Affleck confirmed that he and Lopez were on good terms while speaking to The New York Times to praise Lopez’s work in Hustlers after she was snubbed for an Oscar. “She should have been nominated,” he said. “She’s the real thing. I keep in touch periodically with her and have a lot of respect for her. How awesome is it that she had her biggest hit movie at 50? That’s f—ing baller.”

April 2021

One year later, he complimented Lopez for an article accompanying her May 2021 cover of InStyle magazine. “She remains, to this day, the hardest-working person I’ve come across in this business,” he said. “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.”

He also asked, “Where are you keeping the fountain of youth? Why do you look the same as you did in 2003 and it kind of looks like I’m in my 40s…at best?” to which Lopez replied, “Ben is funny! He still looks pretty good too.”

May 2021

After Lopez split from her fiancé Alex Rodriguez last month, she and Affleck reconnected in Los Angeles when Affleck visited Lopez at her home. Less than one week later, the two were seen in Montana together where they were photographed riding in a car together near a resort in Big Sky, where Affleck has a home.

“[Jennifer] spent several days with Ben out of town,” a source told PEOPLE. “They have a strong connection. It’s all been quick and intense, but Jennifer is happy.”