Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez: What we know — and what we don't — amid rumors they're splitting

Is Bennifer 2.0 a bust? Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez, who are coming up on their second wedding anniversary in July, have been plagued by breakup rumors for weeks.

While promoting her Netflix release Atlas at a press conference in Mexico City on Wednesday, Lopez was asked by a journalist if the rumors about her marriage were true. Before she could reply, her co-star Simu Liu shut down the conversation, saying, "We're not doing that." Lopez told the reporter, "You know better than that," leading the conversation back to the film.

What's been going on?

After calling off their first engagement 20 years ago, Affleck and Lopez got back together in 2021. They had not one but two weddings the following year, bought a $60 million mansion for their combined broods in 2023 and Lopez shared their Greatest Love Story Never Told with the world (despite Affleck’s reported apprehension over their private life being exposed).

Two months after Lopez’s documentary came out — as well as an album, This Is Me ... Now, with songs about their rekindled love — an onslaught of rumors surfaced. Rumors started swirling at the start of May, boosted by two recent high-profile solo appearances. (Affleck attended Tom Brady’s Netflix roast on May 5 alone, and Lopez arrived at the Met Gala on May 6 by herself.) Since then, multiple outlets have reported that they are living separately but have been photographed together.

Who's saying what about Affleck and Lopez's relationship status

??On May 15, the tabloid In Touch reported that Lopez, who’s on her fourth marriage, and Affleck, who's on No. 2, are “headed for a divorce" and living apart.

? On May 16, People magazine reported that 47 days had passed since the Afflecks were publicly photographed together.

?? The same day, Us Weekly reported that “Jen and Ben are having issues in their marriage” and living apart, but they aren’t splitting just yet.

?? That night, they were photographed together attending a school event for one of Affleck's children. Both wore their wedding rings.

?? On May 19, they were photographed together at another school event. (Affleck's ex-wife, Jennifer Garner, posted that their eldest daughter, Violet, had graduated.)

?? On May 20, Lopez attended the premiere of Atlas without Affleck. She did mention him — briefly — during her appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live!

? On May 22, People reported their marriage “is not in the best place" as they continue living apart. Their differing personalities and approach to what they share about their life together are issues, a source said.

?? The same day, Lopez attended a press conference in Mexico City during which she was asked about her relationship status. Both Lopez and co-star Liu shut that down.

What we know about Bennifer 2.0

Until Lopez or Affleck speaks out, nobody knows for sure what their relationship status is. Here’s what we do know.

They face a lot of criticism as far as celebrities go. They’ve been dogged by rumors during both eras of their relationship. Intense media speculation is why they called off their first wedding in 2003 — and that speculation has continued. Further, two narratives they haven’t been able to shake: His reputation as “Sad Affleck” and the idea that he’s seemingly unhappy all the time (he’s not, he says) as well as her own rep for relationship hopping, which she explored in her dual film projects and album earlier this year.

They have distinctly different personalities. Affleck said that when they got back together, he told her “one of the things I don’t want is a relationship on social media.” Intensely private, he said he’s had to compromise on that because she likes to share. Lopez admitted she pushed her partner from his comfort zone by examining their rekindled love in her doc, The Greatest Love Story Never Told, calling him a “reluctant participant” in the story.

They have baggage. There are layers to their rekindled relationship. For one, their past failed romance. Affleck asked Lopez in her doc if she had forgiven him for their 2004 split and she rawly admitted, “I think I was angry at you for a long time,” before adding, “I think I’ve forgiven you all the way.” There are also two families that were tricky to blend. Lopez said bringing together their five children (her twins with Marc Anthony and his trio with Jennifer Garner) was “a really emotional transition,”

This year hasn’t been easy on them. Lopez spent a lot of her own money — $20 million — funding the dual film projects this year. She had a lot of people — including her Monster-in-Law co-star Jane Fonda, who appears in the doc — questioning why she was “trying to prove something” by making the vanity project about her relationship with Affleck instead of the two of them just living their lives.

2024 was to be Lopez’s year, but her tour, This Is Me ... Live, which kicks off in June ended up being scaled back due to “weak” ticket sales. The album itself was the lowest-charting release of her career.

Affleck juggles his own criticism, like his appearance at the Tom Brady roast. While the jokes were supposed to be about Brady, he launched into a tear about social media, slamming trolls for “talking shit … behind your f***ing keyboard… I can’t think of a more f***ed up, dysfunctional, horrible working system designed to perpetually make people feel awful.” Not only was he criticized for that, but there were also negative stories about his physical appearance.

Those factors, for him and her, are now subplots to the split narrative, which keeps twisting and turning and will continue until they speak for themselves.

Updated, May 23, 2024 at 1:15 p.m. ET: This story has been updated to include Jennifer Lopez being asked about marriage rumors.