JLo's Ex-husband Says Marriage with Ben Affleck Won't Last Long – She Once Told Him He Was Love of Her Life
Jennifer Lopez's love life has consistently made headlines over the years. She has been engaged six times, married thrice, and is now married again. However, one of her former spouses is "not convinced" that her fourth marriage will survive.
Pop singer and dancer Jennifer Lopez was overwhelmed with emotions after her husband, actor Ben Affleck, proposed to her.
The "Hustlers" star shared a video of herself on her website, On The JLo, where she revealed that she and Affleck were engaged.
Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck spotted on September 25, 2021 in New York City┃Source: Getty Images
Lopez sobbed while admiring her engagement ring in the clip. On April 9, 2022, the actress posted a video on Twitter where she teased fans about a "major announcement!!" on her website:
"I have a really exciting and special story to share. So, if you're not part of my inner circle, you have to go to On the JLo.com to hear this one."
Three days later, Lopez shared another clip where she acknowledged those who checked out her website for the said announcement. She tweeted to her 45.4 million fans that there was a "new newsletter coming your way soon!" as she gushed in the video.
After finally revealing the big news, the New York native showed off her green diamond engagement ring. She had previously divulged that green is her favorite color:
"I always say the color green is my lucky color – maybe you can remember a certain green dress."
"I've realized there are many moments in my life where amazing things happened when I was wearing green," she confessed. This is the second time Lopez has gotten engaged to Affleck. He bought her a 6.1-carat pink diamond ring from Harry Winston for their first engagement years ago.
Affleck and Lopez met in 2001 on the set of the rom-com film "Gigli." Although the movie was not a success, the pair fell in love.
However, Lopez was still married to her second husband, Cris Judd, at the time. Still, that did not stop the duo from pursuing a romantic relationship. After she and the dancer divorced, Lopez and Affleck soon went public with their relationship. Her divorce from Judd was finalized in 2003.
Their romance quickly blossomed, and Affleck planned on marrying her. In July 2003, Lopez told ABC News how their proposal went down. She and Affleck visited his family in Boston.
Upon arrival at the house, the "Gone Girl" star opened the door and, to her surprise, saw a romantic setup that instantly took her breath away:
"It's just a blanket, a quilt of rose petals, all over the house. So many candles, and vases, bouquets. And my song 'Glad' was playing. I walk in and I was just like overwhelmed. I wasn’t expecting it, and I was just like, 'Oh my God.'"
When she asked the filmmaker who helped him set everything up, Affleck said it was his mother. "I just started sobbing. Crying. I was like, 'Oh! my God!'" recalled Lopez.
As tears streamed down her face, Affleck read a letter where he stated all the reasons why he loved her and wanted to marry her. Lopez said she cried tears of joy:
"It was the most cleansing feeling and the most wonderful feeling I had ever had."
After Affleck reached the end of the letter, he popped the big question: "Will you marry me?" When she realized he got her favorite pink diamond as an engagement ring, she was mesmerized until he reminded her that she had not answered him. "I was like, 'Oh! Yeah! Yeah! Yes! Yes!'" Lopez recounted.
Meanwhile, Affleck described his then-fiancée as a "wonderful, fabulous woman" who is "smart and interesting." He shared that "spending time with her makes me a better person and a happier person," adding:
"She impresses me every day. It feels better to me to be with her than without her."
While people criticized the couple for rushing to get married soon after Lopez finalized her divorce from Judd, Affleck said they only wanted to wed because "we fell in love."
At the time, the duo talked about their upcoming wedding on different shows but still attempted to keep specific details private.
When asked about their wedding date, the lovebirds could not provide a straight answer. Lopez only mentioned that it would be custom-made when she was asked about the wedding dress.
When the subject of paparazzi came up, she explained that it would be okay for them to take photos of their special day and that it would be just an ordinary wedding without over-the-top security.
Unfortunately, the big day never came as the pair decided to postpone their nuptials in September 2003. They cited the "excessive media attention" as the reason for the delay.
After announcing the postponement, Affleck and Lopez briefly called it quits, but they rekindled their romance while at their Georgia island hideaway.
The couple officially split for the second time in January 2004 - for good this time. The New York Post reported that Affleck was allegedly not ready to settle down, and Lopez was furious because of his partying habits and "wandering eye."
Years later, Lopez reflected on her failed relationship with Affleck in an interview with Rolling Stone. She said they have both evolved:
"We've both grown. We're both the same, and we're different. We learned a lot. We know what's real and what's not real. So, it's just – the game has changed."
After marrying other people over the years, with Lopez getting engaged to baseball star Alex Rodriguez and Affleck dating Cuban actress Ana de Armas, the two decided to give their relationship another chance.
In April 2021, Page Six reported that Affleck and Lopez spent time together in Los Angeles following her split from Rodriguez.
The two-time Academy Award winner was spotted multiple times visiting the "Lila & Eve" star's California home during the day. One time he was pictured leaving her Bel-Air mansion, but the pair was not seen in public together.
However, they made quite a statement when they eventually appeared publicly together at the 2021 Met Gala event. Dubbed "Bennifer," the couple locked lips while wearing masks in one of their first red-carpet appearances since they reunited in 2021.
"The Godmother" star once revealed that having a second chance at love with the Oscar winner was a "nice" feeling and that she was happy with him.
LOPEZ & AFFLECK'S PRIVATE WEDDING
In cementing that happiness, Lopez announced in July 2022 that she and Affleck finally wed in a secret ceremony in Las Vegas. She made the big announcement on her website, writing:
"So, with the best witnesses you could ever imagine, a dress from an old movie and a jacket from Ben's closet, we read our own vows in the little chapel and gave one another the rings we'll wear for the rest of our lives."
The "Marry Me" star donned two wedding gowns for the special occasion, and Zuhair Murad designed the second dress. The garment featured long sleeves with an off-the-shoulder detail, a sweetheart neckline, a corset bodice, and a long train, including a veil with lace trimming.
The next day, the new bride posted a make-up-free selfie on her Instagram and flaunted her wedding ring. In her post, Lopez expressed the relief of finally getting it right after two decades:
"We did it. Love is beautiful. Love is kind. And it turns out love is patient. Twenty years patient."
The couple wed three months after getting engaged again. When Lopez announced the news in her On the JLo newsletter, she signed off by writing, "Mrs. Jennifer Lynn Affleck."
That is because the multi-millionaire changed her legal name to Jennifer Affleck. A copy of their marriage license from Clark County, Nevada, showed their names as Benjamin Gez Affleck and Jennifer Lynn Affleck.
Her mother, Guadalupe Rodriguez, revealed after the lovebirds' wedding that her daughter "has always said that Ben is her true love."
OJANI NOA IS SKEPTICAL ABOUT LOPEZ'S FOURTH MARRIAGE
While the world has been celebrating the star couple's union and their fairytale wedding, Lopez's former first husband, Ojani Noa, is not impressed with their romance.
Noa stated he was also the "love of her life" when they were together. She said she wanted to spend the rest of her life with him. "I wish her and Ben the best, but I'm not convinced that it will last," the Cuban native said, adding:
"Jen loves being in love, but she's been engaged six times. Ben is husband number four. I was husband number one, and she told me I was the love of her life, and we would be together forever."
Jennifer Lopez and Ojani Noa during the premiere of "Selena" at Pacific Cinerama Dome in Hollywood, California┃Source: Getty Images
The former couple first met in 1996 at Gloria Estefan's Cuban restaurant, Lario's On The Beach in Miami. After six months of dating, Noa proposed, and the pair walked down the aisle in February 1997.
However, their marriage began to crumble when Lopez's thriving career had a negative effect on it. She became focused on establishing her Hollywood career and did everything she was told by those who worked with her, and in the end, it rubbed her then-spouse the wrong way.
Noa revealed that he and Lopez had initially discussed having kids one day, but that idea never materialized because she said children would only derail her career.
Ojani Noa and Jennifer Lopez at Tom Ford of Gucci Hosts Fashion Benefit for APLA at Santa Monica Airport on June 5, 1997 in Santa Monica, California┃Source: Getty Images
The two eventually filed for divorce in 1998 after realizing they were at odds with maintaining their marriage. The personal trainer received an estimated $50,000 in the settlement.
Despite the differences in their union, they remained close after their split. Even Noa continued to wear his wedding band for quite some time after they parted ways.