Jennifer Lopez split from Ben Affleck months after they called off first wedding

16 February 2024 , 02:05

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Jennifer and Ben first dated in 2002

Jennifer Lopez has finally confirmed when she split from Ben Affleck after they called off their first wedding.

The couple began dating in 2002 after meeting on the set of Gigli, and less than a year later, Ben had popped the question. The nuptials were planned for September 2003, but just days before, they called off the wedding with a joint statement blaming the “excessive media attention surrounding our wedding”.

At the time, it was rumoured they had split immediately after cancelling their wedding, but in a new interview, Jennifer finally cleared up the confusion around the timeline of her break-up with Ben after their cancelled nuptials. She revealed they had actually tried to give their relationship a go, even after calling off the ceremony, but they soon realised they had to go their separate ways.

READ MORE: Ben Affleck meets with ex-wife Jennifer Garner on Valentine's Day as J.Lo gives emotional speech

Ben and Jennifer, seen here in 2002, were due to wed in September 2003 (Getty Images)

They split just days before the nuptials were due to take place (GC Images)

“We didn't break up right at that moment, it happened over the series of the next few months. Because what it did was it casted doubt in me, and both of us, about what our relationship was and where it was going, I think,” she told Zane Lowe on his Apple Music 1 show. She also confirmed they split in January 2004, a few months after they were forced to cancel their first wedding as their relationship slowly collapsed.

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Jennifer said they “weren’t mature enough” to figure out they needed to “do some work” on their relationship in order to stay together. “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 candidly shared.

They reunited in 2021, and wed less than a year later (Getty Images)

Jennifer admitted she and Ben 'weren't mature enough' the first time round (Golden Globes 2024 via Getty Images)

JLo confessed she was “scared” as they tried to keep their relationship going, but they “weren’t ready to deal with” splitting up after calling off the wedding. Instead, they carried on for a few months, but realised they weren’t able to “buckle down” and stay together. After they broke up, Jennifer married Marc Anthony, and the couple share 15-year-old twins Max and Emme, but they divorced in 2011.

Meanwhile, Ben went on to wed Jennifer Garner almost a year after splitting from JLo, and the former couple, who split in 2015, share three children - Violet, 18, Seraphina, 15, and Samuel, 11. The On The Floor hitmaker said she and Ben had “both tried and found other people” after breaking up, and said it was only after they had “done a lot of work” that they were ready to reunite for good.

She joked it wasn’t until she was “totally good on my own” after building a hugely successful career that “he showed back up”. JLo and Ben reunited in 2021 and wed in a surprise Las Vegas ceremony just one year later, before cementing their union with a huge star-studded bash in Georgia.

Emma Wilson