Celebrity
Jennifer Lopez Recalls Her Canceled Wedding To Ben Affleck
“We just weren't there yet.”
Jennifer Lopez is looking back on her canceled wedding to Ben Affleck.
The couple were due to be married in Sept. 2003, but the ceremony was abruptly postponed just four days prior. As per People, a statement released by Lopez and Affleck at the time claimed that “excessive media attention” was to blame for the cancelation.
More than 20 years later, the This Is Me... Now star opened up about the wedding that never was during a Feb. 14 interview with Apple Music 1’s Zane Lowe, revealing that the postponement “cast doubt” over their relationship, and ultimately led to their break up in Jan. 2004.
“I knew in my heart that I wanted to be with him for the rest of my life, I knew that. But it didn't feel like we were going to make it,” she continued. “And so, it scared me.”
Lopez also cited their age as another reason behind the breakup, adding that she and Affleck weren’t “mature enough” to get married at that time.
“Even though he was in his late 20s, I was in my early 30s ... we weren't ready to deal with, and look at each other and go, what we have is real, we need to buckle down, we need to do some work,” she shared. “We just weren't there yet.”
Bennifer’s Rekindled Relationship
Lopez and Affleck first met while filming the romantic comedy Gigli together in 2002. At the time, Lopez was married to ex-husband, Cris Judd, whom she divorced that same year.
The couple, who became known as “Bennifer,” announced their engagement in Nov. 2002 and continued their relationship for more than a year, before splitting just four months after their planned 2003 wedding.
Lopez later married singer Marc Anthony in June 2004. The couple welcomed two children together, twins Max and Emme, and divorced in 2014.
In 2005, Affleck tied the knot with Jennifer Garner. The pair welcomed three children together and ended their marriage in 2015.
Affleck and Lopez rekindled their relationship in the summer of 2021, eventually walking down the aisle in 2022 — almost two decades after their original nuptials were scrapped.
Speaking to Apple Music 1’s Zane Lowe, Lopez said Affleck came back into her life at just the right time.
“It wasn't until both of us had done, I know for me, a lot of work, and got into a place where I was like, ‘You know what? I'm totally good on my own. I'm chill, I love my life’ ... That's when he showed back up,” she concluded.
