Ben Affleck ultimately put on an engagement ring in 2022; however, his second wife, Jennifer Lopez, has refused to remove the ring despite the fact that their marriage is in the early stages of disintegration. According to sources who wish to remain anonymous, Lopez intends to keep the $10 million engagement ring until the cows come home.
Even if their spectacular reunion after twenty years apart failed to materialize in record time, Jennifer is reportedly planning to keep a piece of Ben's heart—and his wallet—close at hand, according to unidentified sources within the industry.
“This isn’t the first time Jen has kept the bling. Back in 2003, after their first engagement went up in flames, Jennifer held on to a 6.1-carat pink diamond ring worth a cool $3.52 million. Fast forward 2024, and now she has no intention of parting with the latest gem,” the undisclosed informant told The National Enquirer.
According to a friend, Jennifer views the band to be hers and hers alone, despite the fact that it is quite expensive.
“It was a gift. Just because the relationship didn’t work out doesn’t mean she has to give it back. Jennifer has zero guilt about keeping it, and clearly Ben doesn’t mind—he’s done this twice already! It’s not like he didn’t know what he was getting into,” the tipster went on.
Meanwhile, during the course of their divorce, Jennifer and Ben will have to deal with a significant amount of assets that they acquired together.
Jennifer, who is 55 years old, filed for divorce from Ben, who is 52 years old, on August 20. The couple had been married for a little over two years. In the application, which was acquired by PEOPLE, Jennifer stated that the date of their separation was April 26. She also stated that the cause for the breakup was due to issues that could not be reconciled.
In the Los Angeles County Superior Court, Jennifer’s filed a petition without the assistance of an attorney, which is referred to as "pro se." She made a request that neither party get spousal maintenance, and the fact that there are parts in the document that discuss communal and separate property suggests that the former spouses did not get married with a prenuptial agreement in place.
"The exact nature and extent of separate property assets and obligations are unknown to Petitioner at this time. Petitioner reserves the right to amend this Petition when same is ascertained," the filing read.
When it comes to their community and quasi-community assets and liabilities, it is stated in another section that the "exact nature" of these things is "unknown" and "will be determined." Additionally, the papers state that Jennifer wants her last name to be restored, and that they will divide the costs of paying the attorney.
Jennifer and Ben purchased their 38,000-square-foot estate in Beverly Hills for $60,805,000 in May 2023. The home was listed for $68 million in July.
A matrimonial partner at Blank Rome LLP named Marilyn Chinitz, who is not involved in the case, has stated that the assets that they have jointly owned will ultimately be divided. "They've been together for two years, and whatever they have earned during those two years is community [property], which means that it will be equally divided if they earned anything,” she stated.
Separate property, by definition in California, is whatever each party owns (or owes in debt) individually from before the marriage and after the separation. It also includes any gifts or inheritance.
While Jennifer and Ben will have to disclose their separate property assets according to documents obtained by PEOPLE Magazine, it is their community property that will have to be divided equally among them in the divorce.
For Jennifer, this potentially includes her earnings from business ventures like her low-calorie alcohol line Delola, which she launched in 2023.
She also starred in numerous films, including “Shotgun Wedding,” “The Mother and Atlas,” not to mention her “This Is Me... Now: A Love Story” movie as well as the accompanying documentary, “The Greatest Love Story Never Told,” which was produced by Ben’s production company, Artists Equity.
In February 2024, as part of the multi-media blitz for her project, Jennifer released the album “This Is Me... Now,” and she later canceled her summer concert tour this year to spend time with family.
Jennifer is currently set to produce the Netflix series adaptation of Emily Henry's popular novel “Happy Place” alongside one of the Bridgerton co-EPs, who will serve as showrunner. Notably, Jennifer struck a first-look deal with Netflix in 2021, which predates the marriage.
The star is also paid as a global brand ambassador for Intimissimi and Coach, and has her own beauty line, JLo Beauty.
Similar to Jennifer, Ben is involved in numerous business endeavors that potentially fall within the timespan of their marriage, as well.
In 2022, he and longtime pal Matt Damon founded Artists Equity, which, in addition to producing Jennifer’s documentary, also produced movies Air, which Affleck starred in, and the recent film The Instigators.
Under the production company, Ben and Jennifer’s entanglements amplify as upcoming projects from Artists Equity include “Unstoppable” and “Kiss of the Spiderwoman,” both of which star Jennifer. She has a producing credit on the latter.
The company is also responsible for producing three of Ben’s popular commercials with Dunkin', including his drive-thru spot for the 2023 super bowl as well as his 2024 DunKings viral hit featuring Damon and Tom Brady.
Ben’s other movies during the duration of his marriage to Jennifer include “Hypnotic,” and he just wrapped filming on “The Accountant 2.”
Nevertheless, Marilyn emphasizes that even in the absence of a prenuptial agreement, which she describes as "extremely unusual," there are instances in which high-wealth individuals might secure their assets in a different manner.
"The only time that you see people not having a prenup is when they've put most of their assets in trust for their children, and those trusts have been established and they wouldn't be part of the community," she said.
Ex-husband Marc Anthony is the father of Jennifer's twins, Max and Emme, who are 16 years old. Violet, who is 18 years old, Seraphina, who is 15 years old, and Samuel, who is 12 years old are the children that Ben has with his ex-wife Jennifer Garner.
Business Times has reached out to Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck for comments.
