It's been a tough year for Jennifer Lopez.
After months of speculation, Lopez filed for divorce from Ben Affleck on Tuesday, no less than on the second anniversary of their wedding in Georgia. Bennifer 2.0 was no more. It was the end of what seemed like a fairytale romance that was rekindled after years apart.
When the first photos surfaced in 2021 hinting that the couple was back together (Lopez walking down the steps of an airplane in Affleck’s T-shirt after her split from Alex Rodriguez comes to mind), there was a buzz and excitement to see them succeed. And a casual glance at social media posts and comment threads, then and now, showed that people were rooting for the couple. After their very public breakup in the early 2000s, they had moved on to other partners and had children, but each of their subsequent relationships dissolved. Lopez and Affleck were now older, wiser, and the media and its prominence (something they cited as the cause of their breakup the first time around) had moved on, especially for women.
Or so we thought.
For Lopez, 2024 began with the release of her ninth studio album, “This Is Me… Now,” and its accompanying musical film, “This Is Me… Now: A Love Story,” as well as a making-of documentary, “The Greatest Love Story Never Told.” The musical film was heartfelt, at times quirky, but a treat for fans nonetheless. The Zodiac circle, packed with stars from different walks of life (to name a few, it included Lopez’s friend and former co-star Jane Fonda, Sofia Vergara, Post Malone and astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson) was reason enough to watch it. Doing a musical film seemed like a natural fit for someone of her stature. Beyoncé did it with “Lemonade”; why couldn’t Lopez try her hand at it?
While critics gave the musical film a favorable review (it has a 73% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a score of 61 on Metacritic), there were also suggestions that these projects gave away too much. In the documentary, we see Lopez share Affleck’s love letters to his musicians to inspire them, something that seemed to surprise him. She was willing to share her relationship with Affleck publicly, but he seemed less interested in doing so (although he did have a hand in the making of the musical film, playing the role of the biker and TV host). Maybe it was a way for her to take ownership of the narrative of their love story the second time around. Maybe it was a way for her to show her fans that even if it takes time, you can have a successful career and love life — something that is not something to take for granted, especially if you’re a famous woman of color. But it seemed to backfire on her, and the media machine started to crank.
In late spring, headlines began to emerge about poor ticket sales for Lopez’s tour in support of “This Is Me… Now.” Questions about her profitability as a musical performer began to circulate on social media, with some arguing that she should stick to performing. But Lopez wasn’t the only artist facing poor ticket sales — it’s been a tough time for many tours despite the bright spot created by Beyoncé and Taylor Swift, who performed to sold-out Los Angeles stadiums in 2023 and have sky-high ticket prices. While Lopez’s new album didn’t chart well, she’s had a successful singing career with several hits. An uncertain economy and purse-string concertgoers may have been bigger contributing factors.
And as we learned, the underlying factor for Lopez turned out to be her personal life. When Lopez announced that she was canceled his tour to focus on his familySpeculation about the state of their marriage ran high. In July, the home Lopez and Affleck purchased together in 2023 was put on the marketLopez received her 55th Anniversary with a “Bridgerton” theme in the Hamptons with no Affleck in sight. A photo of Affleck with a new haircutLopez’s hairstyle, featuring a faux hawk, drew more scrutiny. Pictures of the couple attending family events over the summer, or of Lopez hanging out with her kids, seemed to quell the rumors, but only briefly. The signs were there for months, but the divorce filing was proof: The couple had split in April.
We’ll never really know everything that happened between them, and all the public could do was speculate until an official announcement — or in this case, an appearance — confirmed what seemed to be true. And the media was no less invasive or indulgent with version 2.0. In the end, it’s none of our business how their relationship fractured. But as someone who appreciates Lopez’s work, from her beginnings as a top girl on “In Living Color” to her breakout role in “Selena,” and later, to her breakout performance in “Hustlers,” I wanted to see how her personal life panned out. There are so few Latinas in the U.S. with multifaceted careers like hers, and it was very satisfying to see her succeed personally and professionally, especially as she was entering her 50s, a historic age when women in Hollywood and the music industry have been marginalized.
Thankfully, that's not the case with older women anymore. Lopez still has the star power to forge her career, whether in music, acting or film. The dissolution of a marriage is not an easy or happy affair, and this is not her first, second or third rodeo. Perhaps it can be material for her next project, if she so chooses. The media may scrutinize her personal life more closely, but her work has always been her superpower.
