Nostalgia for the early aughts appears to be hitting a fever pitch with the news that Bennifer is back .
That’s right: Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck, one of Hollywood’s biggest power couples from 2002 to 2004, is back together once more. Lopez announced that the two got married over the weekend in Las Vegas in her email newsletter. Read on for all the details.
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Bennifer was a big deal back in the day.
Their personal and creative partnership fizzled out in early 2004, but the writing was on the wall in 2003 after the release of their awful romantic comedy, Gigli . The movie grossed just $7.2 million against a $75.6 million budget and effectively killed the career of director Martin Brest.
The two went their separate ways.
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Lo got together with singer Marc Anthony later in 2004, eventually breaking up in 2011, and making it official in 2014. Affleck did something similar, marrying actress Jennifer Garner in 2005, splitting up in 2015, and divorcing in 2018.
Bennifer’s back, and it looks like this time it’s forever.
Tabloid reports from April 2021 indicated that Affleck and Lopez were seeing each other once more. The rumors were made official when the two were photographed holding hands and kissing in the following months.
In September of 2021, Bennifer made their first red carpet debut in 18 years at the Venice Film Festival.
They got engaged back in April.
Over the weekend, JLo spilled the deets in her email newsletter , confirming that the two got married in Las Vegas on July 16.
The announcement was surprisingly poignant.
“We did it. Love is beautiful. Love is kind. And it turns out love is patient. Twenty years patient. Exactly what we wanted. Last night we flew to Vegas, stood in line for a license with four other couples, all making the same journey to the wedding capital of the world,” Lopez wrote in her email newsletter, On The JLo .
She shared some pictures of the big day.
Bennifer 2.0 seems like a decidedly more low-key spin on the early aughts power couple, as Affleck and Lopez were able to tie the knot without any tabloid photographers at the scene.
They did it at an iconic location.
The marriage ceremony was performed at the Little White Wedding Chapel, where luminaries ranging from Paul Newman to Frank Sinatra to Michael Jordan have all said “I do.”
“We barely made it [there] by midnight,” Lopez wrote. “They graciously stayed open late a few minutes [and] let us take pictures in a pink Cadillac convertible.
It was essentially a DIY wedding.
Lopez wrote that they got married with just a few witnesses and wore clothes they already owned.
“[The chapel] even had Bluetooth for a (short) march down the aisle,” wrote JLo. “But in the end it was the best possible wedding we could have imagined. One we dreamed of long ago and one made real (in the eyes of the state, Las Vegas, a pink convertible and one another) at very, very long last.”
“When love is real, the only thing that matters in marriage is one another and the promise we make to love, care, understand, be patient, loving and good to one another.”
JLo thanked the Little White Wedding Chapel for allowing her to change in the break room, while her groom changed in the men’s room.
They’re looking forward to their new life.
“Stick around long enough and maybe you’ll find the best moment of your life in a drive through in Las Vegas at 12:30 in the morning in the tunnel of love drive through, with your kids and the one you’ll spend forever with,” wrote JLo.
“With love, Mrs. Jennifer Lynn Affleck.”
Lopez concluded her newsletter with a sign-off confirming that she’ll take her husband’s name. Presumably her professional name will still be Jennifer Lopez, with J.Lo as a nickname, because it sounds a whole lot cooler than JAff.
Congrats to the happy couple!
Bennifer 1.0 never fully got off the ground, resulting in an engagement that was later broken off. But this most recent news shows that, even after decades and other marriages, Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck never stopped carrying a torch for each other.
What do you think?
If you’re nostalgic for the early aughts, this news probably hits like a refreshing blast from the past. Be sure to let us know what you think of Bennifer getting back together — and tell us your favorite memories from 20 years ago.
