Jennifer Lopez, Ben Affleck’s Relationship Timeline: From Their Reunion to Their Wedding

Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck remain in marital bliss. The couple became engaged for a second time nearly 20 years after their initial engagement this past Spring. After a Las Vegas wedding ceremony with just their children as witnesses, the couple wed in a larger backyard ceremony at Affleck’s estate in Georgia in August. Following their honeymoon, Mr. and Mrs. Affleck are said to still be smiling from ear to ear. “Ben and Jen are still in their honeymoon phase,” the source exclusively tells Us Weekly. “They are very head over heels for each other.” The source added: “Becoming husband and wife hasn’t changed their relationship much, except for the fact that it solidified what they had. They’re looking at homes to purchase together and hoping to find one they’re both happy with. It’s been an ongoing process.”

As they search for a shared home, TMZ reports they’ve opted to remodel Lopez’s Bel Air home, which she’s owned since 2016. The remodel will take some time, at least a year, according to sources close to the couple. The media outlet previously reported they moved into James Packer’s $60 million Beverly Hills mansion at the start of the summer, but they will only be renting it until the remodel is complete. Affleck also listed his home for $30 million.

Their whirlwind reunion came 18 years after they first began dating. Their initial split was due to their booming careers, with both admitting media interference drew them apart. They reconnected after Affleck and his ex-wife Jennifer Garner split, and Lopez and MLB star Alex Rodriguez called off their engagement. Just three months after confirming their engagement, the two secured their marriage license in Las Vegas on July 16. On July 17, they exchanged vows in a ceremony said to be extremely intimate, with just their loved ones present. 

“It was super, super small. They just wanted to be married so they got married,” an insider told PEOPLE. A selection of photos and videos were e-mailed to fans subscribed to her newsletter On the JLo. “We did it!” the email is titled. She included photos of her dress, Affleck’s tux, and other photos of the newlyweds smiling together. Their five children were together. 

This is Lopez’s fourth marriage. She was previously married to Ojani Noa, Chris Judd, and Marc Anthony. Lopez and Anthony have two children, twins Max and Emme. Affleck and Garner have three children together. While they’ve been married before, they clearly believe they’ve found “the one” in each other. Here’s a look back at their love story.

Rumors begin

The former couple sparked romance rumors in April 2021 when Affleck was spotted in an SVU supposedly to visit Lopez. For the next few months, sources revealed they continued hanging out and confided in one another about their recent breakups and the media spotted them on several occasions.

Confirmations

In July 2021, Lopez initially made a subtle confirmation of her rekindled flame with Affleck via an appearance on her BFF Leah Remini’s Instagram. She later shared a photo of her kissing Affleck for her birthday the same month.

The second time around

Affleck has been gushing about just how lucky he feels since getting another shot with the Marry Me star. In Dec. 2021, he told WSJ. “I’ve had second chances in my career. I’ve had second chances as a human being. Life is difficult, and we are always failing and hopefully learning from those failures,” he said. “The one thing you really need to avail yourself of the opportunities provided from that growth is the second chance. I’ve definitely tried to take advantage of that. I haven’t always been successful, but in cases in which I have, they’ve turned out to be the defining aspects of my life.” 

With age comes wisdom

In Feb. 2022, Lopez told PEOPLE what the difference is between their relationship now versus to 18 years ago. “We’re older now, we’re smarter, we have more experience, we’re at different places in our lives, we have kids now, and we have to be very conscious of those things,” she said.

He proposed

Affleck was first spotted ring shopping with Lopez’s teenage daughter Emme by his side. She confirmed the engagement in a newsletter she sent out to her fans. “Did you ever imagine your biggest dream could come true?” she wrote at the time. “Saturday night while at my favorite place on earth (in the bubble bath), my beautiful love got on one knee and proposed. I was taken totally off guard and just looked in his eyes smiling and crying at the same time trying hard to get my head around the fact that after 20 years this was happening all over again, I was quite literally speechless and he said, ‘is that a yes?’ I said YES of course that’s a YES.”

“I Do”

Lopez shared some intimate details about their shotgun nuptials. “Love is beautiful. Love is kind. And it turns out love is patient. Twenty years patient,” her newsletter reads in part. “Exactly what we wanted. Last night we flew to Vegas, stood in line for a license with four other couples, all making the same journey to the wedding capital of the world…We barely made it to the little white wedding chapel by midnight.”