After months of speculation, Jennifer Lopez has officially filed for divorce from Ben Affleck after two years of marriage. Between putting their house on the market, missing each other’s birthdays, and the fact they have been living apart for several months, the news has been a long time coming.

JLo filed for divorce without an attorney and listed the date of their separation as 26 April, which confirms that the couple have been separated for several months. However, according to TMZ, the couple do not have a prenuptial agreement.

Until now, both Affleck and JLo have refrained from addressing the divorce rumours in public, but it’s possible the gloves are about to come off now that it’s been confirmed.

The pair first started dating in the early noughties before splitting up in 2004. They then got back together in 2021 after 18 years apart and got married the following summer. ‘Bennifer 2.0’ quickly became one of Hollywood’s most iconic love stories, which also meant they became one of Hollywood’s most scrutinised couples.

Rumours of a split began to surface earlier this year with reports suggested the couple had been ‘living separate lives’ since May – JLo has been staying in their Beverly Hills mansion, which is currently up for sale, and Affleck recently purchased a $20.5m home in the Pacific Palisades area of LA.

Then, in July, Affleck was notably missing from JLo’s 55th birthday celebrations and in August, on Affleck’s 52nd birthday, JLo paid him a short visit before heading to a Bruno Mars concert with some friends. Two wedding anniversaries (yes, they had two weddings) also came and went without so much as an Instagram story. Given that JLo regularly shares pictures of her life on social media, and shared photos from their wedding to mark their first anniversary last year, it was clear that something was amiss.

In more recent weeks, we’ve already seen a number of ‘sources’ come out of the woodwork from JLo’s camp to express how they feel about Affleck. One source told Page Six there is ‘bad blood’ between Affleck and JLo’s former manager Benny Medina, and that ‘the two can’t stand each other’. While another source said, ‘No one, except [Lopez’s] mother, likes Ben Affleck. He’s a triple-A asshole.’

A third Page Six source suggested that their short-lived marriage was an experiment in asking ‘what if’ after their relationship failed the first time, and that their lack of a prenup may prove to be a problem in the coming months. ‘They got caught up in the moment. Jennifer had wanted this wedding – the gowns, the friends, all the trappings and trimmings – for decades.

‘They’ve turned the page on all the unfinished business of 20-plus years ago. They’ve seen things through to the end – and they know for sure now that they are not built for the long haul,’ the source added, before warning, ‘it’s gonna be the most elaborate and expensive exercise in closure ever.’

Of course, as two A-list Hollywood stars, it’s unusual that the couple got married without a prenup. Between their $68m Beverly Hills mansion, their joint creative endeavours – including JLo’s upcoming film Unstoppable – and a $640m net worth between them, sources say they are both desperate for formalities to be settled.

According to Grazia’s source, the promotion of Unstoppable is already proving to be a point of contention given that Affleck financed the film, his friend Matt Damon is the producer and JLo stars as the lead. ‘Unstoppable is a tricky one because Ben and Matt are so invested in its success,’ the source explains. ‘It puts these guys in a tricky position, but for now, they both want the movie to be a hit and exist apart from Ben’s crazy relationship drama. Ben and Jennifer are committed to supporting this film, even if they’re not committed to their marriage.’

If films like Mr & Mrs Smith in 2005, which was entirely overshadowed by Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston’s divorce, or Don’t Worry Darling in 2022, which was eclipsed by the alleged Olivia Wilde, Harry Styles and Jason Sudeikis love triangle (despite Wilde telling Vanity Fair her marriage was over ‘long before’ she met Styles), there is little to no chance Affleck and JLo will be able to promote their film in September without being bombarded with questions about the divorce.

However, as Grazia’s source confirms, they are businesspeople first. ‘Ben is always going to be part of Jennifer’s life. Their children are best friends, they’ve made a bunch of films together, and they still root for each other, even through the decades of their roller coaster relationship.’

Now that we know the relationship came to an official end in April, it’s clear that the former couple has made a conscious effort not to exacerbate divorce rumours or speak badly about each other in public – especially given how intertwined their families are.

Earlier this month, JLo was spotted at Affleck’s ex-wife Jennifer Garner’s house to collect their middle child Fin to go shopping. The pair were seen walking with their arms around each other days before Afflecks’ 52nd birthday. Similarly, in June, JLo shared a photo of Affleck on her Instagram story to celebrate Father’s Day with the caption, ‘Our hero.’ And later that month, Affleck appeared on Kevin Hart’s show ‘Hart to Heart’ and was asked about JLo and said, ‘She’s so famous, and she creates this – people love her. And she really represents something important to people. [To me] people are like, “Hey, I like your movie” and then they’re like ‘AHHHH JLo”. It’s amazing.’

Whatever happens in the aftermath of the divorce announcement, the families seem committed to maintaining a functional relationship for the sake of their kids. Their approach so far has been one of damage control and mutual respect, but will the official divorce papers, lack of prenup and upcoming promotion of Unstoppable change that? Or will more ‘sources’ come forward to reveal that there’s more to the story? We will have to wait to see.