Commentary: Fans thought the media would be softer on Bennifer 2.0. They were wrong

It’s been a rough year for Jennifer Lopez.

After months of speculation, on Tuesday, Lopez filed for divorce from Ben Affleck — on the second anniversary of their Georgia wedding, no less. Bennifer 2.0 was no more. It was the end of what appeared to be a fairy tale romance rekindled after years apart.

When photos first surfaced in 2021 hinting that the couple was back together — the shot of Lopez descending a jet staircase in Affleck’s shirt after her break up with Alex Rodriguez comes to mind — there was an eagerness and excitement to see them succeed. And a casual skim of social media posts and comment threads, then and now, showed that people were rooting for the couple. After their very public break-up in the early aughts, they had moved on to other partners and had children, but each of their subsequent relationships dissolved. Lopez and Affleck were now older, wiser and the media and its spotlight — something they cited as the cause of their break up the first time around — had evolved, particularly for women.

Or so we thought.

For Lopez, 2024 began with the release of her ninth studio album, “This Is Me … Now,” and its accompanying musical film, “This Is Me … Now: A Love Story,” as well as a making-of documentary, “The Greatest Love Story Never Told.” The musical film was earnest, at times outlandish, but a treat for fans nonetheless. The Zodiac circle, chock full of stars from different corners of celebrity — to name a few, it included Lopez’s friend and former co-star Jane Fonda, Sofía Vergara, Post Malone and astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson — was reason enough to watch. Making a musical film seemed a given for someone of her stature. Beyoncé did it with “Lemonade”; why couldn’t Lopez try her hand?

While critics reviewed the musical film favorably (it has a 73% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and a Metacritic score of 61), there were also suggestions that these projects revealed too much. In the documentary, we see Lopez share Affleck’s love letters with her musicians to inspire them — something that seemed to startle him. She was willing to share her relationship with Affleck publicly, but he seemed less interested in doing so. (Though he did participate in the making of the musical film, performing the part of the biker and a TV anchor.) Perhaps it was a way for her to take ownership of the narrative of their love story the second time around. Perhaps it was a way for her to show to her fans that even if it takes time, you can have a successful career and love life — something that isn’t a given, especially if you’re a famous woman of color. But it seemed to backfire and the media machine began to churn.

In late spring, headlines began to emerge about slow ticket sales for Lopez’s tour in support of “This Is Me … Now.” Questions about her bankability as a musical performer began circulating on social media, with some arguing that she should just stick to acting. But Lopez wasn’t the only act to face slow ticket sales — it‘s been a tough time for many tours despite the bright spot created by Beyoncé and Taylor Swift, both of whom performed to sold-out L.A. stadiums in 2023 and command sky-high ticket prices . While Lopez’s new album didn’t chart well, she has had a successful singing career with several hits. An uncertain economy and concertgoers tightening purse strings may have been bigger contributing factors.

And as we learned, the underlying factor for Lopez turned out to be her personal life. When Lopez announced that she was canceling her tour to focus on her family, speculation about the state of her marriage went into overdrive. In July, the home Lopez and Affleck purchased together in 2023 was put on the market. Lopez hosted her “Bridgerton”-themed 55th birthday in the Hamptons with Affleck nowhere in sight. A photo of Affleck with a new haircut, styled in a faux-hawk, drew further scrutiny. Images of the couple attending family events over the summer, or of Lopez hanging out with his children, seemed to tamp down the rumors — but only briefly. The signs were there for months, but the divorce filing was the proof: the couple had separated in April.

We’ll never truly know everything that happened between them, and all the public could do was speculate until an official announcement, or in this case, a filing, confirmed what appeared to be true. And the media was no less invasive or forgiving about version 2.0. In the end, it’s none of our business how their relationship fractured. But as someone who appreciates Lopez’s work, from her start as a fly girl on “In Living Color” to her breakout role in “Selena,” and later, to her tremendous performance in “Hustlers,” I wanted to see her personal life work out. So few Latinas in the U.S. with multifaceted careers like hers exist and it was very satisfying to see her succeed personally and professionally, especially as she was entering her 50s, historically an age when women in Hollywood and the music industry have been cast aside.

Thankfully, that’s not the case as much anymore for older women. Lopez still has the star power to forge her career ahead, whether that’s in music or acting or filmmaking. The dissolution of a marriage is not an easy or happy affair, and this is not her first, second or third rodeo. Perhaps it can be fodder for her next project, if she desires. The media may scrutinize her personal life more closely, but her work has always been her superpower.