Jennifer Lopez has finally opened up about the real reasons behind her and Ben Affleck’s high-profile split, just three days before their 2003 wedding, per unilad.com.
The pair, famously dubbed ‘Bennifer’, shocked the world when they called off their nuptials at the 11th hour. While they eventually reunited and wed two decades later in 2022, the singer has now revealed that the initial collapse of their relationship was a gradual process fuelled by “immature” fears and intense public pressure.
Speaking candidly in an interview with Apple Music’s Zane Lowe, Lopez explained that the decision to postpone the wedding cast a shadow of doubt that they couldn’t overcome at the time.
“I knew in my heart that I wanted to be with him for the rest of my life, but it didn’t feel like we were going to make it, so it scared me,” she admitted.
The Marry Me star confessed that despite their deep feelings, they lacked the emotional maturity to handle the scrutiny. “We weren’t ready to deal with and look at each other and go, ‘What we have is real, we need to buckle down and do some work.’ We just weren’t there yet.”
Lopez described the 2003 split as the “biggest heartbreak” of her life, revealing it sent her on a “spiral for the next 18 years” where she struggled to find the same connection in subsequent relationships.
Following the initial breakup she married singer Marc Anthony, with whom she shares two children, and was later engaged to Alex Rodriguez.
Affleck married actor Jennifer Garner in 2005; they share three children and divorced in 2018.
The couple famously rekindled their romance in 2021, proving that time had provided the maturity they once lacked. They married in Las Vegas in 2022, followed by a lavish ceremony in Georgia.
However, the “Hollywood ending” was short-lived. Lopez filed for divorce on their second wedding anniversary in 2024, with court documents citing April 2023 as their official date of separation. While the fairytale has ended once more, JLo’s reflection offers a rare glimpse into the pressures that broke one of the 2000s’ most iconic couples.
