‘The ex’s love story wasn’t the fairytale fans thought it would be’
JLo cuts off Today’s Craig Melvin and shouts ‘there you go!’ after he brings up Ben Affleck divorce on live TV

The awkward live TV moment occurred during Monday morning’s broadcast of Today.

Jennifer Lopez on a Today Show interview with the text "if it wasn't for ben, the movie wouldn't have gotten made."

5

JLo cut off Today show host Craig Melvin when he mentioned her divorce from her ex, Ben Affleck, in a live on-air momentCredit: Instagram/todayshow

Ben Affleck in a black suit with a white shirt and dark tie, and Jennifer Lopez in a black strapless dress with long black gloves.

5

JLo filed for divorce from Ben last August after two years of marriageCredit: AFP or licensors
JLo – full name, Jennifer Lopez – appeared on the program to promote her new musical film, Kiss of the Spider Woman.

While Ben wasn’t on-screen with her in the film, as he has been in the past, it was difficult to avoid mentioning his name, given that the actor is an executive producer on the project.

Additionally, during filming, JLo, 56, and Ben, 53, finalized their divorce after two years of marriage.

Craig acknowledged the timeline in the interview, which appeared to take JLo by surprise.

“In the middle of filming this elaborate, beautiful musical, your divorce was also finalized with Ben,” the journalist began before JLo interrupted, saying, “There you go! Look at this guy!”

She glared off camera, seemingly covering up her shock with a smile, as Craig clarified he only brought up her Gigolo co-star because of his important film credit.

“But then I read that your ex is an executive producer on the film,” he explained.

JLo laughed off the remark before giving significant praise to Ben for his involvement in the movie.

“If it wasn’t for Ben, the movie wouldn’t have gotten made,” the Jenny From the Block singer said.

“And I will always give him that credit.”

J-Lo takes savage swipe at ex Ben Affleck as she debuts brutal new song about ‘broken’ actor

She then touched on their public split and how the film helped her move on and heal.

“And yeah, things happen, you have to keep going,” the Get Right singer explained.

“It’s funny, the movie is about escapism. It’s about how movies and art save us in the hardest times of our lives,” JLo said of the film, which also stars Diego Luna, Tonatiuh, Josefina Scaglione, and Aline Mayagoitia.

“Doing this project was such a dream come true for me that it really got me through to kind of survive a moment that was difficult in my personal life as well.”

 

Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck relationship timeline

 

JLo and Ben were first linked together in 2002 and became engaged later that year. However, they called off the wedding just two years later. They rekindled their romance in 2021 and finally got hitched in 2022 before filing for divorce this year. Here is a timeline of their love story:

June 2002 – Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck met on the set of Gigli and JLo divorced from her second husband Cris Judd
November 2002 – Ben proposed to JLo with a six-carat pink diamond ring
September 2003 – JLo and Ben called off their wedding and blamed it on ‘excessive media attention’
January 2004 – The celebrity couple announce they are heading separate ways
July 2021 – JLo posts an intimate photo of herself beside Ben and they begin dating again
April 2022 – Ben proposes to JLo for a second time
July 2022 – The celebrity couple officially celebrated their nuptials in a Las Vegas, Nevada, ceremony
August 2022 – Ben and JLo have a second A-list wedding at their $8.9million George estate
February 2023 – Ben and JLo go viral after she is seen appearing to scold him at the Grammy Awards as the camera swung by their table, while photos often showed him looking exhausted and miserable on outings with his wife.
May 2024 – Divorce rumors began to swirl with sources alleging they were not compatible and Ben was sick of marriage.
July 2024 – The pair publicly listed their new marital home for $68 million and it was reported they were living separately in new properties.
August 2024 – JLo finally filed for divorce on their second wedding anniversary on August 20.

Kiss of the Spider Woman hits theaters on October 10.

Neither JLo nor Ben has spoken much about their divorce, despite it taking the world by surprise, given their heartwarming love story.

The pair were first linked in early 2002 and were engaged for two years before parting ways in January 2004.

They each went on to marry and have children with other partners, but eventually rekindled their romance in the spring of 2021.

They tied the knot a year later, but apparently, it wasn’t the fairytale everyone had thought it would be, as reports circulated in August 2024 that JLo had filed for divorce.

During a sit-down with British GQ in March, Ben opened up about the separation, insisting that there was “no scandal, no soap opera, no intrigue.”

He also explained that the reason he’d stayed quiet about the split was because he felt “embarrassed” by the ordeal.

Jennifer Lopez appearing on the Today show.

5

JLo praised Ben for his involvement in her latest film, Kiss of the Spider WomanCredit: Instagram/todayshow

Ben Affleck in a tuxedo with Jennifer Lopez in a pink Nicole & Felicia couture strapless dress at the 81st Golden Globe Awards.

5

JLo and Ben were previously linked in 2002 before rekindling their romance 20 years laterCredit: Getty

Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez walking in New York City.

5

After their split, Ben revealed he was tight-lipped about their separation because he was ’embarrassed’ by the ordealCredit: Getty