It is not surprising that many of us are aware of “Bennifer”, whose sentimental state is currently the center of intense speculation. The first time they were together, they represented the epitome of early 2000s glamour. Every public appearance channeled ostentatious devotion, from Affleck’s appearance in Lopez’s 2002 “Jenny From The Block” music video to the $2.5 million pink diamond on her engagement ring. They even pioneered the cloying nickname “portmanteau”.
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Their breakup in 2003 was like the death of a very particular kind of Hollywood love, one that seemed so lavish and choreographed that it could never have been real.
The couple’s reunion in 2021 provoked a different response. Fresh out of lockdown, the world was hungry for uplifting and inconsequential news. Bennifer’s comeback came with an added hit of nostalgia, and the photos of the couple celebrating Lopez’s 52nd birthday on a yacht seemed like an ironic nod to their heyday in the nineties.
The images also served as a reminder of the press attention that had stifled the relationship the first time around. In the following years, Affleck had become the symbol of maturity and Lopez had suffered several more breakups. When they eloped to Las Vegas in a paparazzi-free midnight ceremony in 2022, the world nodded in agreement. The couple deserved happiness, and everyone, it seemed, had learned a thing or two about privacy. Everyone, apparently, except Lopez.
Cut to 2024. The album “This Is Me… Now”, the sister album of “This Is Me… Then” from 2002, is a whirlwind visit to Bennifer’s romance, with themes such as “Dear Ben, Pt. II” and “Midnight Trip to Vegas”. If we have any doubt about the transformative effect of Affleck’s affection, the accompanying film makes it clear with a huge “heart factory”.
