What everyone has been anticipating for the past few months has finally happened: Jennifer Lopez has officially filed for divorce. This marks the end of her nearly four-month wait during which she clung to hope that she could still save her marriage to Ben Affleck. In the document, Lopez listed April 26 of this year as the date of separation, while the petition itself is dated August 20, which is quite symbolic.
Jennifer chose to announce her divorce exactly two years after her lavish, multi-day wedding celebration in Georgia. Thus, the āGreatest Love Story Never Toldāāas Lopez named her self-financed documentary about her romance with Affleckāhas come to a sad end in real life. The situation deteriorated to the point where the couple stopped speaking to each other and only communicated through their lawyers. And there was much to discuss! Remarkably, the couple, with what many considered astonishing frivolity, did not sign a prenuptial agreement before their wedding.
They now face the task of dividing their combined fortune of $650 million, with Lopezās contribution being nearly three times larger: her net worth is estimated at $400 million, while Affleckās is $150 million. While it is unlikely they will argue over what they had before the marriage, dividing the assets acquired during their marriage will be challenging. The lengthy delay between the date of separation and the divorce petition is partly due to their prolonged and painful negotiations over this matter.
Moreover, Lopez had another reason besides dividing their wealth for her reluctance to file for divorce. Jennifer, known for her exceptional determination, was unwilling to accept another failure. In interviews, she stated that since her first unsuccessful relationship with Ben in the early 2000s, both she and Affleck had matured into people capable of solving their problems. When Jennifer decided to marry Ben, she had no doubt that this time they would find everlasting happiness together. Unfortunately, this was not meant to be.
According to friends of the couple, Lopez never fully understood how incompatible she and Ben were. Lopez simply cannot help but feel like a star and act accordingly 24/7. Meanwhile, Affleck always wanted his private life to be securely shielded from the outside world beyond the film set. Thus, from the start, there were the infamous āirreconcilable differencesā that Jennifer either did not want to acknowledge or did not consider crucial to their relationship.