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Ben Affleck skipped Jennifer Lopez’s “Atlas” movie premiere in Los Angeles Monday night as split rumors continue to swirl.
Lopez was seen wearing her wedding band solo on The Egyptian Theatre Hollywood’s red carpet. Jennifer looked stunning in a white tube top, floor-length black skirt and her hair pulled back in a tight bun. She accessorized with a statement necklace and earrings.
After 47 days of not being seen together, including Jennifer’s big night at the Met Gala earlier this month, the couple attended an event on May 16 together to support their children. According to People magazine, Jennifer and Ben arrived separately, but were both wearing their wedding rings at the event.
Jennifer Lopez attended the premiere for her Netflix film “Atlas” without Ben Affleck on Monday night. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
Then on Sunday, the A-list couple was photographed, shining bright smiles together in a car driving in Los Angeles.
Alessandra Conti, a celebrity matchmaker, told Fox News Digital that although the split rumors are just rumors, “the past is usually the best predictor of the future when it comes to relationships.”
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“The first time they got together, back in 2002, they broke things off 2 years later, in 2004, after a failed engagement. We are right around that 2 year mark for the couple this time around, give or take a few months, so it does make sense that similar issues would resurface, and they could hit a breaking point at the 2-year mark,” she continued.
Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez are all smiles as they are photographed in a car on Sunday. (Backgrid)
“When a couple breaks up and then gets back together, it is essential that they deep dive into their past issues, process them together (ideally with a therapist), and then develop a plan of action if the issues resurface or reoccur.”
Conti shared that the “honeymoon phase” that many couples experience tends to fade around the 2-year mark in the relationship.
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“This is where a couple enters into a new phase in their relationship where love becomes a choice, and more effort needs to be made in order for it to be sustained,” she explained. “It is clear that they are both putting in effort to make the relationship work.”
Prior to this past week, Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez were last seen out and about on March 30 in New York City. (Photo by MEGA/GC Images)
Alessandra explained that celebrity couples are very similar to a non-famous relationship. The relationship expert shared that every relationship has its ups-and-downs and Ben and Jen’s just happens to be in the public eye.
“Typically, in non-famous couples, it is normal to have issues that need to be worked through throughout all stages of a relationship, and incredibly common for a woman to seek out relationship advice through social media, like Jen “liking” a relationship post,” Conti said. “This does not indicate that a relationship is in utter turmoil; on the contrary, it is evidence that celebrities really are “just like us” when it comes to love and relationships, and are merely trying to navigate the complexities of sustaining a healthy long-term partnership.”
Before Monday night’s premiere, a source told Page Six that Affleck had “come to his senses” about his marriage to Lopez.
“If there was a way to divorce on grounds of temporary insanity, he would,” the source continued. “He feels like the last two years was just a fever dream, and he’s come to his senses now and understands there is just no way this is going to work.”
Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez tied the knot in 2022. (Photo by ROBYN BECK/AFP via Getty Images)
Prior to this past week, Lopez and Affleck were last photographed together holding hands in New York City on March 30.
A source close to Ben told Fox News Digital, “People around Ben are being really tight-lipped about what’s going on in his personal life, but something definitely seems to be up. There were projects they were trying to figure out ways to work on together and recently those talks have stopped.”
Another source confirmed, “Jennifer and Ben have been trying to work together for a really long time. She wanted to find ways to have him be involved in her upcoming tour and new music.”
Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck reportedly have different approaches to media attention. (John Shearer)
A third source on Jennifer’s side told Fox News Digital, “Jennifer and Ben were getting into fights before they got married over little, silly things.”
Another source added, “They’ve had fights about differences of opinions on raising their kids. They have very different parenting styles.”
Sources also spoke to People magazine on Monday about why there is a strain in the couple’s marriage, which includes their differing approaches to media attention.
“They just have very different approaches when it comes to media attention. Ben hates all attention and it makes him very uncomfortable. Jennifer has always had a different approach,” a source told the outlet.
Ben Affleck has reportedly “came to his senses” in his marriage with Jennifer Lopez. (Rodin Eckenroth/FilmMagic)
An insider in the film industry said that Affleck has “always been impressed” by his wife’s success and work ethic during her multi-decade career, but “always sharing her life is not his way.”
The source added, “Even though he admires that about her, it doesn’t make him happy and causes stress in his life and then in hers. There is no question their different styles clash.”
Reps for Affleck and Lopez did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez were previously engaged in the early 2000s. (Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
Lenna Marsak, a relationship coach and therapist, called on spectators to be “kind” after the “On The Floor” singer liked her post about unhealthy relationships.
The post, which was published March 19, states, “You cannot build a healthy relationship with someone who … lacks integrity and emotional safety … doesn’t respect your time/ doesn’t think it’s important to call/text back in a respectable time frame … lack effective communication skills … doesn’t know who they are or what they want.”
Jennifer Lopez (Lenna Marsak Instagram / yourcourageouscomeback)
“Please be kind to Jennifer Lopez because she’s a human being. I do not know if they’re getting divorced,” Marsak said in an Instagram Story video. “I hope not, but yeah, please.”
Last Thursday, a source confirmed to Us Weekly that “Jen and Ben are having issues in their marriage. They started having issues a few months ago as Jen had started ramping up work commitments and prepping for her tour. Jen is very focused on work. They are on two completely different pages most of the time.”
However, that same day, Lopez was photographed arriving at a dance studio in L.A. wearing her wedding ring.
Jennifer Lopez was photographed wearing her wedding ring amid split rumors. (Backgrid)
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Throughout their love journey over the years, Lopez and Affleck – who originally broke up ahead of their 2003 wedding, but reconnected and got married in July 2022 – have battled many relationship woes.
In her 2024documentary”The Greatest Love Story Never Told,” Lopez got candid about calling off her engagement to the Oscar award-winning actor over 20 years ago.
Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez attend the premiere of “The Mother” in May. (John Salangsang/Variety via Getty Images)
“Ben and I, we broke up three days before our wedding,” Lopez revealed. “We just crumbled under the pressure. I think we all go along thinking like, ‘I’m doing OK. I’ve been through these things.’ If you’re like me, you just shake it off and put your best foot forward and just do your thing.”
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Affleck spoke further about learning to compromise.
“Getting back together, I said, ‘Listen, one of the things I don’t want is a relationship on social media,'” he said in the documentary. “And then I sort of realized it’s not a fair thing to ask. It’s sort of like you’re going to 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.”
The couple sparked separation rumors after reports circulated the couple were experiencing “issues in their marriage.” (Johnny Nunez)
Earlier this month, Lopez hit the Met Gala solo after Affleck’s “unhinged” rant at Tom Brady’s roast the night before, causing more stir online.
Affleck’s filming schedule forced him to skip the star-studded charity event celebrating the opening of the 2024 Costume Institute exhibition at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Affleck is filming “The Accountant 2” in Los Angeles, a representative for the actor told Fox News Digital.
Jennifer Lopez sparkled at the Met Gala without Ben Affleck. (Getty Images)
As for Lopez’s plans this summer? She’s hoping to bring her two children, 16-year-old twins Max and Emme, on her “This Is Me…Live” tour.
“I feel like this is the last time that I’ll get to do something like this with them,” she said during an appearance on “Good Morning America” last week. “They’re 16, and next time they’re gonna be like, ‘No, mom.'”
“I’m going to use the last little bit of force I have on them to be like, ‘You have to come at least for a little while,'” she added. “Hopefully they’ll acquiesce to that.”
Janelle Ash is an entertainment writer for Fox News Digital.
