Jennifer Lopez Asks to Change Her Last Name Amid Ben Affleck Divorce
Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck Divorce: Prenup and Court Document Details
She’ll always be Jenny from the block, but she’s asking for a name change.
When Jennifer Lopez filed for divorce from husband Ben Affleck on Aug. 20, her paperwork detailed a specific request.
J.Lo—or, as she’s currently legally known, Jennifer Lynn Affleck—officially requested her name be restored to Jennifer Lynn Lopez, according to documents obtained by E! News.
In addition to the name change, the Maid in Manhattan actress asked the state to deny both her and Ben the opportunity to collect spousal support. The couple, according to an NBC News source close to Jennifer, did not have a prenuptial agreement, meaning that money earned by the pair since their July 2022 marriage in Las Vegas is considered community property.
J.Lo’s filing—which came exactly two years after their Georgia wedding ceremony—lists “irreconcilable differences” as the reason for the breakup.
News of the couple’s split surfaced following months of speculation of martial issues that began at the 2024 Met Gala in May, when the “Let’s Get Loud” singer arrived as a co-chair of the event without Ben. And Jennifer’s court docs seem to confirm those rumors, listing the date of separation as April 26.
E! News has reached out to reps for Lopez and Affleck but has not received comment on the divorce filing.
Jennifer and Ben first met in the early 2000s and filmed 2003’s Gigli and 2004’s Jersey Girl together. The pair dated and were engaged by November 2002, but postponed their September 2003 wedding. By January 2004, the couple had broken up.
Rob Latour/Shutterstock
Following that breakup, Ben married actress Jennifer Garner in 2005 and the pair had three kids: Violet, 18, Seraphina, 15 and Samuel, 12. After separating in 2015, the Argo director and Alias alum finalized their divorce in 2018.Â
Jennifer went on to marry Marc Anthony—with whom she shares twins Max and Esme, 16—in 2004, but the pair divorced in 2014. The This Is Me… Now singer then dated and was engaged to Alex Rodriguez, but the couple broke up by early 2021 after rescheduling their wedding multiple times.
Victor Chavez/Shutterstock
“You know we tried twice in 2020. We got bit twice by COVID-19,” the former MLB player said on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon in 2021. “You know, they say third time’s a charm, so let’s hope it’s what we want to hear.”
Read on for all the signs that Jennifer and Ben’s relationship was heading toward its end.
(E! News and NBC News are both part of the NBCUniversal family.)
Dia Dipasupil / Staff / GETTY IMAGES
Solo Appearance at Met Gala
While the dress code for the 2024 Met Gala was “The Garden of Time,” fans started wondering if there was a thorny situation between Jennifer and Ben after he didn’t accompany her to the star-studded soirĂ©e (where she served as co-chair) on May 6.
As for the reason the Oscar winner—who took part in Netflix’s Tom Brady roast in California the day before—didn’t join the singer at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art? Ben’s rep told E! he was filming the Accountant 2 in L.A.
Instagram / Lenna Marsak
Social Media Moves
Even though Bennifer stayed tight-lipped on the split rumors, social media speculation continued to get loud after fans noticed J.Lo had liked an Instagram post about relationship red flags a few months before.
“You can’t build a relationship with someone who is disconnected from themselves,” the caption of the March 19 post read. “We can’t expect someone to see us when we can’t even see themselves. Getting in a relationship is the easy part. Nurturing & fostering it is a different story. After all, love is not a feeling, it’s action.”
Jon Kopaloff/WireImage
Different Perspectives on Relationships in the Public Eye
Just a few months before the rumblings of a split emerged, Ben shared insight into his and Jennifer’s very different approaches to privacy.
“I had a very firm sense of boundaries initially around the press while Jen I don’t think objected to it in the way I did,” the Argo star explained in the Grammy nominee’s documentary The Greatest Love Story Never Told that was released in February. “I very much did object to it.” Â
Expressing how the “massive amount of scrutiny” they faced was a “catalyst” for the end of their engagement in the early aughts, Ben said he wanted to keep details of their private life more, well, private after they rekindled their romance in 2021.
“Getting back together, I said, ‘Listen, one of the things I don’t want is a relationship on social media,'” he added. “And then I sort of realized it’s not a fair thing to ask. It’s sort of like you’re gonna marry a boat captain and you go, ‘Well, I don’t like the water.’ We’re just two people with kind of different approaches trying to learn to compromise.” Â
Photo by Christopher Polk/Golden Globes 2024/Golden Globes 2024 via Getty Images
Living Apart
Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic
No Ben on Atlas Red Carpets
And as the month progressed, she continued her string of solo red carpet appearances—attending both the L.A. premiere and Mexico City fan event for her movie Atlas without him. However, Jennifer did accessorize her looks with her wedding ring.
Carlos Tischler/Eyepix Group/LightRocket via Getty Images
Questions on Where They Stood
In fact, a member of the audience at a press conference in Mexico asked about the breakup rumors. But as seen in a video shared by El Gordo y la Flaca, the actress simply responded, “You know better than that.”
Ethan Miller/Getty Images for ABA
Canceled Tour
At the end of May, representatives for Live Nation announced the cancelation of Jennifer’s U.S. Summer 2024 Tour This Is Me…Live, noting in her On the J.Lo newsletter, “Jennifer is taking time off to be with her children, family and close friends.”
Adrián Monroy/Medios y Media/Getty Images
Saying No to Negativity
Not long after, the singer celebrated the success of her movie Atlas while also sending a cryptic message about negativity.Â
“ATLAS is #1 worldwide again this week!!!” she stated in a June edition of her On the JLo newsletter. “Thank you all so much!!! It may seem like there’s a lot of negativity out in the world right now…but don’t let the voices of a few drown out that there is soooo much love out there.”
Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic
Selling Their Home
That same month, TMZ reported the actors were privately selling the Beverly Hills mansion they had purchased just the year before. By July, they had publicly listed the home for $68 million.Â
Italian Getaway
While fans may have hoped Bennifer was gonna be alright after they attended family events together and she sent him a sweet Father’s Day tribute, the split speculation picked back up after J.Lo headed off to Italy in June while Ben stayed in L.A., where he was spotted without his wedding ring.
Instagram/@jenniferlopez
July 4th
And when it was time to celebrate the Fourth of July, the Maid in Manhattan star headed to the Hamptons in New York. While she posted a photo with one of her twins, Emme, Ben was not pictured.
Kevin Winter/Getty Images
A Quiet Anniversary
July also marked the second anniversary of the Gigli costars’ Las Vegas wedding. And while Jennifer shared a celebratory post last year, she didn’t upload one this time around.
Bridgerton Birthday
Amy Sussman/Getty Images
No Birthday Shout-Out
And when Ben turned 52 on Aug. 15th, Jennifer didn’t give him a birthday shout-out on social media. Although, the “Jenny From the Block” artist did stop by his home on that day, according to photos obtained by Page Six.
Photo by Gotham/GC Images
This Is the End… Now
After months of speculation, Jennifer filed for divorce from Ben on Aug. 20 at Los Angeles County Superior Court. In the documents, she cited the couple’s date of separation as April 26, according to the filing obtained by TMZ.Â
For the latest breaking news updates, click here to download the E! News App
