What Jennifer Lopez Wants in the Ben Affleck Breakup
Jennifer Lopez requested that the judge deny Ben Affleck spousal support when she filed for divorce, exactly two years after their wedding ceremony in Georgia.
Perhaps J.Lo’s love really doesn’t cost a thing.
Jennifer Lopez has filed for divorce from Ben Affleck exactly two years after their wedding ceremony in Georgia, a source close to the “Let’s Get Loud” singer told NBC News. Details of what she’s seeking from the settlement are starting to emerge.
According to documents obtained by TMZ, Lopez—who filed at the Los Angeles County Superior Court on Aug. 20—waived her right to spousal support and requested that the judge deny Affleck any spousal support as well.
The couple did not have a prenuptial agreement, the insider told NBC News, meaning that any money earned by both Affleck and Lopez since their July 2022 marriage in Las Vegas is considered community property.
The “Jenny from the Block” singer listed April 26 as their date of separation, just days before rumors of marital strife surfaced at the 2024 Met Gala, where she appeared as a co-host without her husband.
Speculation about their split intensified in the following months as Lopez and Ben Affleck began listing their homes for sale.
Despite this, the two seem to be on good terms, as Lopez was spotted visiting Affleck’s rental home in Brentwood, California, on his 52nd birthday on Aug. 15.
E! News has reached out to representatives for Lopez and Ben Affleck for comments on the divorce filing but has not yet received a response.
Lopez and Ben Affleck first met in the early 2000s and co-starred in two films together: 2003’s *Gigli* and 2004’s *Jersey Girl*. The couple began dating and were engaged by November 2002, but they postponed their September 2003 wedding and ultimately broke up by January the following year.
After their first split, Ben Affleck married Jennifer Garner in 2005, with whom he shares three children: Violet, 18, Seraphina, 15, and Samuel, 12. They finalized their divorce in 2018.
During that same time, Lopez was married to Marc Anthony from 2004 to 2014, and they share 16-year-old twins, Max and Emme. Lopez later dated and became engaged to MLB star Alex Rodriguez, but they ended their relationship in early 2021.
Jennifer Lynn Lopez was born on July 24, 1969, in the Bronx, New York City, and grew up in the Castle Hill neighborhood. Her parents, Guadalupe Rodríguez and David Lopez, were both born in Puerto Rico and met in New York City. David, who served in the Army, later worked as a computer technician at Guardian Insurance Company, while Guadalupe was initially a homemaker before working as a Tupperware salesperson and a kindergarten and gym teacher. The couple divorced in the 1990s after 33 years of marriage.
Lopez is the middle of three sisters, with an older sister, Leslie, and a younger sister, Lynda. The sisters shared a bedroom and were raised in a strict Roman Catholic household, attending Mass every Sunday and receiving a Catholic education at Holy Family School and Preston High School, an all-girls private school. During her school years, Lopez was very active in sports, running track at a national level, participating in gymnastics, and playing on the softball team. She also danced in school musicals and took a lead role in a production of *Godspell,* describing herself as a “tomboy” and “very athletic.”
Music played a significant role in her Puerto Rican household, where Lopez and her sisters were encouraged to sing, dance, and create their own plays for family gatherings. Inspired by *West Side Story,* Lopez aspired to be an entertainer from an early age. As a teenager, she studied flamenco, jazz, and ballet at the Kips Bay Boys & Girls Club and even taught dance to younger students, including Kerry Washington. After high school, she briefly worked as a secretary at a law firm and studied business at Baruch College for one semester before enrolling full-time at Manhattan’s Phil Black Dance Studio, where she had previously taken night classes in jazz and tap dance.
Lopez’s decision to leave college and pursue a dance career was met with disapproval from her parents, who thought it was “foolish” for a Latina to follow such a path. This led to a rift with her mother, who asked Lopez to move out, resulting in eight months of estrangement. Lopez moved to Manhattan, where she initially slept in the dance studio’s office while pursuing her dreams.
