Before Ben Affleck Married J.Lo, He Quietly Had A Whirlwind Romance With Ana De Armas

Blonde is the controversial new screen version of Monroe’s life. Now streaming on Netflix, it presents a grueling and fictional version of her successes and struggles, though it’s rooted in what we know of her real-life story. Based on the novel by Joyce Carol Oates and directed by Andrew Dominik (The Assassination of Jesse James), it features an acclaimed central performance by de Armas.

Starting her career in her home country of Cuba, de Armas then relocated first to Spain and eventually to LA. Her earliest notable Hollywood roles included thriller Knock Knock with Keanu Reeves in 2015 and the much-lauded 2017 sequel Blade Runner 2049. This saw de Armas working with major director Denis Villeneuve (Dune) and Ryan Gosling, not to mention Harrison Ford. More on Gosling shortly.

Another good year for Ana de Armas was 2019, when she took the role of nurse Marta Cabrera in hit mystery Knives Out. Daniel Craig starred as a laid-back detective and audiences loved the end result. More than holding her own against a stellar supporting cast, which included late screen legend Christopher Plummer, de Armas was now getting serious attention.

Talented and versatile, next she went into the action genre with aplomb. Re-teaming with Craig for his final Bond movie No Time To Die in 2021, she later worked with Ryan Gosling again for Netflix’s The Gray Man (2022). The latter release received mixed reviews but was enough of a hit for both a sequel and spin-off to be greenlit.

Playing Marilyn Monroe in Blonde is yet another memorable entry on her résumé, though the movie hasn’t been without its critics. That all-important Rotten Tomatoes rating sits squarely in the middle at 50 percent. Some admired Andrew Dominik’s shocking and uncompromising approach, whereas others felt the explicit content went too far. Either way, the one thing people agree on is de Armas’ star quality.

As for Ben Affleck, he’s been filling movie theaters for decades. His career as an actor, producer and director is renowned. He’s played famous characters such as Jack Ryan and of course Bruce Wayne/Batman. Affleck also grabbed media attention for his relationship with Jennifer Lopez, which began way back in 2002. It wasn’t the smoothest of beginnings in a professional sense, though.

They starred together in crime comedy Gigli, one of the movie industry’s most talked-about box office flops of recent decades. Despite the pedigree of director Martin Brest (Beverly Hills Cop, Midnight Run) and the charisma of the two stars, it wasn’t enjoyed by either critics or audiences. It made a reported $7.2 million. Big money to some, yes, but unfortunately the end product cost more than $75 million to make!

The story focused on Affleck’s title character, a gangster who becomes attracted to fellow criminal Ricki, played by Lopez. Writing about the movie’s release in 2003, the famed critic Roger Ebert noted that the pair were “sweet and appealing in their performances; the buzz said they didn’t have chemistry, but the buzz was wrong. What they don’t have is conviction.”

Still, if the mix wasn’t quite right in front of the camera, it was clearly cooking behind the scenes. Lopez and Affleck hit it off. Complicating matters somewhat was the fact that Lopez was married at the time, to actor and dancer Chris Judd. So, did the stars of Gigli begin their romance as the cameras rolled? Not according to Affleck.

Affleck was attracted to her but apparently didn’t plan on making a move. Speaking to Vanity Fair that same year, he claimed that “it was nice for me to know I was capable of feeling that way,” as in caring for someone else. He added that “what I really wanted was for them to be happy, even more than I wanted what I wanted.”

As we know, the situation didn’t stay that way. Lopez wound up splitting from Judd in 2002. This reportedly wasn’t a bad break-up and its resolution seems to have been relatively comfortable for both parties. Now Affleck was free to start something with his co-star. He was certainly in Lopez’s good books, as she showed during a 2002 interview on Primetime with Diane Sawyer.

Lopez described her new love in glowing terms, calling him “brilliantly smart, loving, charming, affectionate. And I just admire him in every way. I respect him. I feel like he teaches me things.” She also mentioned how Affleck popped the big question, by draping his mother’s home in rose petals and lighting it with candles to create an ultra-romantic mood.

Throw in a track from one of Lopez’s own albums — the song Glad — and it seems she was probably dying to say “I do.” The combo of two A-listers was an instant headline-maker, something that ultimately led to the couple’s break-up. Constant media intrusion is what reportedly turned up the heat and led to them cooling off. The wedding was first postponed and then abandoned by 2004.

Because of Gigli’s failure and the fairly short timeframe of their relationship, you might be forgiven for thinking this was all one big misstep for Affleck and Lopez. Yet you’d be wrong. While they each went on to have other relationships, it was clear that this particular fire hadn’t been extinguished. Little did people suspect it at the time but the romance would eventually be rekindled.

Of course, both had a way to go before that moment. Affleck married actress Jennifer Garner, with whom he has three children — two daughters and a son. The couple were married for 13 years from 2005. Garner was another partner Affleck fell for on a movie set, this time the 2003 superhero flick Daredevil. He then went on to find commercial success in the role of Batman.

Meanwhile, Lopez was married to actor/musician Marc Anthony between 2004 and 2014, with whom she had twins. It was a union that she entered into just months after splitting from Affleck. Lopez’s 2002 release This Is Me… Then was inspired by Affleck and it seemed that the pair still liked and respected each other.

A couple of decades on from the whirlwind of Gigli, Affleck and Lopez started dating again. A year after that exciting news broke, she had a ring on her finger and they were preparing to finally walk up the aisle. The high-profile wedding took place in Las Vegas on July 16, 2022, and Lopez declared her love via a statement to Today.

Lopez revealed that they’d “stood in line for a license with four other couples, all making the same journey.” She added that this diverse group of people all wanted “the same thing: for the world to recognize us as partners and to declare our love to the world through the ancient and nearly universal symbol of marriage.” Congratulations, indeed, but what of Affleck’s previous partner?

Let’s spool back a bit to 2019. Affleck’s making a movie, the psychological thriller Deep Water. He’s being directed by a well-known name in the genre, Adrian Lyne, who brought us 9½ Weeks and Fatal Attraction back in the 1980s. Affleck’s co-star in the picture’s a young actress who’s been making a name for herself in some eye-catching roles: Ana de Armas.

Affleck and de Armas played a couple in the film and as it turned out the chemistry extended to real life, too. They began seeing each other and it was only a matter of time before the press got wind of what was going down. Various impromptu snaps were taken of the couple out and about, looking uncomfortable about the attention as you might expect.

It’s easy to imagine that Affleck was reminded of his former relationships. His time with Lopez might well have loomed large as the cameras clicked. It must have been annoying for de Armas, too, though of course we can’t say for sure what they were thinking at the time. The couple at least seem happy in some of the pictures, which is something.

The pair are seen walking dogs in her native Cuba, a vacation period captured not only by the press but also by Affleck and de Armas themselves. She posted shots of her and Affleck that made things pretty official. One selfie shows a smiling de Armas. Affleck possibly doesn’t appear the most comfortable he’s ever looked but then watching yourself as you take a picture isn’t for everyone, right?

The Instagram selfie was posted on her birthday. At the time of writing, de Armas is currently 34, while Affleck’s 50. “Cheers to another great year” was the accompanying message. The following month, a music video for “Antes Que El Mundo Se Acabe” — which translates as “Before the World Ends” — by Puerto Rican rapper Residente featured the happy couple. The footage came from a trip to the Joshua Tree in California.

The couple were also seen at a Black Lives Matter protest. With de Armas meeting Affleck’s family and their relationship now out in the open, what were the next steps? In a touching yet slightly odd moment, Affleck’s kids placed a cardboard stand of de Armas outside their father’s house. Then in August she posted a snap of them both, in honor of his 48th birthday.

It seemed that things were getting serious. Unfortunately, though, it wasn’t to be. So, how come Affleck and de Armas broke up? Well, it appears that geography made things untenable for them. De Armas reportedly didn’t want to be rooted in LA. But for Affleck, the City of Angels was a must, owing to the proximity of his family. As ever with relationships, practicalities turned into obstacles.

As with Lopez and Gigli, the public perception of Affleck and de Armas is probably shaped by the movie they made together. The reaction to Deep Water wasn’t exactly rapturous. The release had been delayed from late 2020 and the film, based on the 1957 book by Patricia Highsmith, finally debuted on streaming services in 2022.

Some liked it, some didn’t, but it seems Affleck and de Armas’ onscreen relationship wasn’t one for the ages. Off-screen they certainly hit it off, though this was a quieter affair compared to his previous relationship with Lopez. In the end, of course, everything worked out great for Affleck. And while he enjoys married life, de Armas is on the up and up.

De Armas’ next film’s a romantic adventure film called Ghosted. This will reunite her with two of her former male co-stars — Chris Evans, who appeared alongside de Armas in Knives Out and The Gray Man, plus Adrien Brody, who portrayed Marilyn Monroe’s playwright husband Arthur Miller in Blonde. There’s also a new spin-off from Keanu Reeves’ John Wick series, titled Ballerina.

As for Affleck, he’s going back to the Batcave, having shot scenes for upcoming releases The Flash and Aquaman & the Lost Kingdom, which are both due out in 2023. So it sounds like life’s going to be too action-packed for either of them to think about much else over the coming months. In Hollywood, as in life, you never quite know what’s around the corner. This may all, of course, leave you wondering about the inside scoop on Affleck and Lopez’s marriage, however...

Indeed, it’s official: Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck are husband and wife — some two decades after getting engaged the first time around. The wedding was, by all accounts, a magical event full to the brim of romance, intimacy, and a little bit of adventure. Never one to disappoint fans, the new Mrs. Affleck gave everyone a glimpse of the couple’s special day via her exclusive newsletter. And we have to say, it sounds like it was the perfect start to their happily ever after.

The ceremony took place on July 16, 2022, in a chapel in Las Vegas — just over a year after they confirmed they’d reignited their old flame and three months after the pair got engaged. For the second time, that is. Affleck got down on one knee in front of J.Lo back in April 2022 in what has to be one of the most romantic proposals ever! 

“While at my favorite place on Earth (in the bubble bath), my beautiful love got on one knee and proposed,” Jennifer told fans in an issue of her OnTheJ.Lo web newsletter. “I… just looked in his eyes smiling and crying at the same time trying hard to get my head around the fact that after 20 years this was happening all over again. I was quite literally speechless and he said, ‘Is that a yes?’ I said, ‘YES of course that’s a YES.’” 

Lopez continued, "I was smiling so big and tears were coming down my face, feeling so incredibly happy and whole. It was nothing fancy at all, but it was the most romantic thing I could’ve ever imagined… just a quiet Saturday night at home, two people promising to always be there for each other." And the couple’s wedding would echo the same intimate sentiments.

J.Lo’s engagement ring was a whopping 8.5-carat diamond ring in a light shade of green — very different from the pink one Affleck had originally given her some 20 years before. Lopez posted a picture of herself wearing the ring on her newsletter to announce the news. But just three months down the line, she’d be swapping that big rock for her wedding band.

In what may have been a spur-of-the-moment decision, Jen and Ben — or Bennifer — hopped on a plane to Las Vegas to say their “I dos.” In her newsletter to fans, J.Lo wrote, “Love is beautiful. Love is kind. And it turns out love is patient. Twenty years patient. Exactly what we wanted… [We] stood in line for a license with four other couples, all making the same journey to the wedding capital of the world.”

The couple then headed to the Little White Wedding Chapel, which has seen its fair share of celebrity weddings. According to J.Lo, it was pushing midnight by the time she and Affleck made it there. But the officiators kept the doors open a little longer than usual so the marriage could go ahead and the newlyweds could get photos in the pink Cadillac parked in the Love Tunnel. 

All couples who get married at the Little White Wedding Chapel have the option of saying their vows in front of someone very special — Elvis. An impersonator, of course — not the real deal. But it turns out Bennifer got to the chapel after The King’s bedtime. “If we wanted Elvis himself to show, that cost extra and he was in bed,” J.Lo told fans in her newsletter. 

As is the case with many star-studded weddings, fans were very intrigued to see what both Affleck and J.Lo wore on their big day — or night, we should say. The singer actually had two outfits for the occasion. The first was a cute yet classic high-neck A-line dress that hugged in all the right places, and it was particularly sentimental for the star.

It was, it seems, J.Lo’s “something old.” She’d worn it in a film she’d starred in ages ago. “I’ve had this dress for so many years,” she told her stylist Chris Appleton in an Instagram video. “And I’ve just been saving it, saving it, saving it, and now I’m wearing it on my wedding day.” Her big, bouncy curls and princess-like makeup finished off the look and looked just as amazing with the star’s second dress…

At the chapel, J.Lo changed into a more traditional bridal look — a figure-hugging, lace-sleeved gown with a veil to match. She looked stunning — but then again, J.Lo could have worn a towel down the aisle and still looked a million dollars. Affleck’s outfit, as you probably guessed, was a little more understated.

While promising to take J.Lo to have and to hold, Affleck wore a white tux he already owned. And he didn’t have the luxury of a stylist like his wife-to-be. Instead, the actor got ready in the men’s W.C. at the chapel! Affleck took a video to document this part of the day, showing fans the small bathroom with his suit bag and rucksack balanced on the sink.

And J.Lo wasn’t exactly in a luxury hotel room or anything, either. She was a few doors away in the venue’s break room for staff. The star later thanked the chapel for being so flexible and for letting them use those rooms to freshen up. It all helped the couple to have what they described as “the best possible wedding we could have imagined.”

“When love is real,” J.Lo said in her newsletter, “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. We had that. And so much more. Best night of our lives.” But there are no doubt a few fans who were surprised at the couple’s choice of wedding.

Between them, Bennifer are worth an estimated $550 million. So fans may have expected them to go all out, planning the sort of no-expenses-spared do lots of stars have these days. But J.Lo confirmed that this was the wedding the pair had always wanted — even all those years ago when they had first got together.

J.Lo described the wedding as “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.” And you need only look at the photos to see happiness radiating off the newlyweds. That post-wedding glow was visible in J.Lo’s first Instagram post after the event as well.

In it, the new Mrs Affleck is in bed, tucked under the covers wearing a big smile and clutching her phone in her left hand, inviting fans to spot what’s different about her ring finger. Gone is the chunky green diamond, and in its place sits a simple, understated wedding band. The singer captioned the photo “Sadie!” as a reference to “Sadie, Sadie, married lady” from Funny Girl.  

Summing up her big day in the newsletter, J.Lo wrote, “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.” But the singer’s newsletter article isn’t all about her. It’s clear from her tone she’s rallying her fans, reaching out to any singletons and passing on her hope and optimism about finding love later in life.

J.Lo wrote, “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 a.m. in the Tunnel of Love drive-through, with your kids and the one you’ll spend forever with. Love is a great thing, maybe the best of things — and worth waiting for.” 

To fans, J.Lo will always be Jenny from the Block, but as is tradition, the star is said to have taken Affleck as her new surname. This makes her new full name Mrs Jennifer Lynn Affleck. And, funnily enough, it’s a change she opened up about back when she was engaged to Affleck the first time around.

In a 2003 episode of Ben & Jen: A Dateline Special, Lopez told Pat O’Brien, “I think I’m going to stay with Jennifer Lopez, but my name will be Jennifer Affleck, obviously.” She then joked about her new nickname J-Aff, saying, “it doesn’t quite have the same ring to it.” Little did she know back then how long and windy the road would be before she actually became Mrs Affleck!

After J.Lo and Affleck called off their first engagement, Lopez married Marc Anthony. They were together ten years, from 2004 to 2014. On their own, they were both famous musicians, but together they were the definition of a power couple. Then, as they welcomed twins into the world, it seemed they had found a happily ever after. But as is the case with every marriage, the pair experienced some rocky moments ...

Lopez and Anthony's playful banter was on full display when they hosted the reality show, ¡Q'Viva! The Chosen. Well, until it all took a slightly uncomfortable turn. Anthony kept a very close eye on one of the female dancers as they left, in full view of his wife. He had to be doing it as a joke, right? The gossip that circulated about Anthony would say otherwise.

Even while rumors of infidelity swirled, though, it appeared as if their love was meant to last. But one day, Lopez battled an anxiety attack and was struck by an unpleasant revelation. She'd made the difficult decision to end her marriage with Anthony, even though it was one of the hardest moments of her life.

Then, several years after that divorce was finalized, Lopez appeared on The View and discussed where her relationship with Anthony stands today. "There’s a reason we’re not together, but we’re great friends and we’re parents together. We’re even working on a Spanish album together. That has been even better for us," she said. But though the dust had settled, their split wasn't without complications.

In her book True Love, Lopez claimed that her young son had worried about how much she would remain in her children's lives. Lopez comforted her son, however, making sure her kids knew she wasn't leaving them. That moment allowed her to build a more healthy relationship with her children, too. But how was Anthony handling the divorce?

Thankfully, Anthony has the utmost respect for Lopez as both a mother and an artist. "Before she even brings an idea up, she has visualized it a thousand times," Anthony told InStyle. "And if anyone says it might not be the greatest idea, she’ll say, 'You just don’t see it yet.'" He also said that Lopez taught him a lot. Oh, and there's another thing he won't ever forget about her, too.

Basically, Anthony remains in awe of Lopez's incredible work ethic. If there was a single person he can count on to be the "first one in the room and the last to leave," that's Lopez. It seems their divorce healed their relationship — in the platonic sense, at least. After Anthony came Alex Rodriguez and a relationship that seemed to put Bennifer in the rear-view mirror for good.

Known as both "J. Rod" and "A. Lo," the pair seemed like they were living out a fairytale. And news of their engagement probably came as no surprise to anyone tracking their relationship. That happy moment was followed by some disturbing developments, however.

For one, there were rumors that A. Lo/J. Rod were on the rocks. Insiders insisted, though, that the pair had not called it quits and that their engagement was still on. Then, while fans wondered when the big day would finally arrive, a photo on Lopez's Instagram changed the game.

In the snap, Lopez's engagement ring was nowhere to be found. Then, after fan speculation ran wild, the two lovers finally revealed what the photo might have hinted: the engagement was off. But while this may have been a tragic bump in the road for poor Jenny, she wouldn't be unlucky in love for long.

In 2021 Bennifer 2.0 was back and in full swing! When papped photos first started appearing of the iconic duo, fans thought it was too good to be true. But it's not! It seems J-Lo and Ben Affleck are having the time of their lives both flaunting for the cameras and simply enjoying each other's company. But that doesn't mean the pair didn't have any concerns about getting back together.

Affleck discussed his “cross to bear” while talking with Howard Stern in 2021, and it caused shockwaves across the entire internet. Some people were appalled at what he said, but one thing was for certain: it put Bennifer back in the public consciousness in a way it hadn’t been since the ’00s. 

Stern said to Affleck, “The relationship now, I see you’re with Jennifer. That even brings more attention to you. You’ve been through the scene when you’re constantly in the tabloids. Was there hesitation on your part, because now you’re a dad? Was there hesitation on your part to say, you know, ‘I can’t go through this again?’”

And there had indeed been hesitation on Affleck’s part, because of the previous media intrusion and the potential effect a new relationship might have on his kids. Affleck said, “It crossed my mind for sure. My responsibility to my children is the highest responsibility. I don’t want to do anything that is painful or destructive to them if I can help it.”

All through the interview, Affleck was adamant that he had never wanted to hurt his children’s feelings in any way, no matter who he was involved with romantically. He described how even once his relationship with Garner had broken down, they had remained married for the sake of the kids and “did [their] best” despite everything.

And those comments about “going through this again” could have also perhaps been taken in an unflattering way. Yet, luckily, it didn’t seem to have any effect at all on how Lopez felt about Affleck. She spoke to People magazine in February 2022 about how “lucky and happy and proud” she was to be with him. 

Lopez told the magazine, “I just feel very happy and lucky to be in a relationship that’s happy and loving, and I want to do everything I can to protect that and keep it safe. It deserves that, it really does.” But she did have a lot to say about the ways the paparazzi had impacted their lives the first time around.

According to Lopez, both she and Affleck “had a little bit of fear” about getting back together in the public eye. She remembered, “Before we kind of put [our relationship] out there, and we were naïve and it got a little trampled.” But this second time around, she felt as though things had changed.

Lopez told People, “We both were like, ‘Wow, we’re so happy and we don’t want any of that to come into play again.’ We’re older now, we’re smarter, we have more experience, we’re at different places in our lives, we have kids now, and we have to be very conscious of those things. We’re so protective because it is such a beautiful time for all of us.”

And Lopez absolutely sung the praises of Affleck as well. She said, “I’m so proud of him. I’m so proud of the man he’s become that I’ve watched from afar… To see the person, the human being, the man that he is today, the father that he is today, the partner that he is — he is so everything I always knew he was and wanted to be.” May their happiness continue for a long time!