J. Lo listed their date of separation as April 26, 2024, when she filed for divorce from Ben on August 20, 2024.
The date was less than a month after the pair was photographed together on March 30, 2024, in New York City. They would go 47 days after that without being pictured together again until In Touch exclusively obtained photos of the duo meeting up to watch Ben's child Fin Affleck perform in a school play in Los Angeles on May 16.
In Touch exclusively reported on May 15, 2024, that Ben had moved out of the $60 million mansion he and Jennifer purchased together in May 2023 and that a split was looming.
"The writing is on the wall - it's over. They're headed for a divorce - and for once, [Ben's] not to blame!" an insider revealed.
The source added, "They'll never stop loving each other, but she can't control him, and he can't change her. There's no way it could have lasted."
The following day, Ben was photographed leaving his $100,000 a month Brentwood, California, rental home for the first time. He later purchased a $20 million bachelor pad in Pacific Palisades, California, closing escrow on Jennifer's July 24 birthday.
Even though they had secretly split, the duo still came together for the sake of their blended family. In addition to attending Fin's play, Ben and Jennifer reunited on May 19 to support her child Emme at a school event. The pair was later photographed going to dinner together at the Soho House in West Hollywood.
J. Lo accompanied Ben and his mother, Anne Boldt, to a pre-graduation party for his daughter Violet Affleck on May 30. However, Jennifer left on her own after one hour when a car arrived to pick her up from the event.
Two months before separating, J. Lo's documentary about her love story with Ben called The Greatest Love Story Never Told dropped on Prime Video on February 27, 2024. In it, the pair discussed the different ways they handled the spotlight, with Jennifer embracing media attention and Ben shying away from it.
"Getting back together, I said, 'Listen, one of the things I don't want is a relationship on social media.' Then I sort of realized it's not a fair thing to ask. It's sort of, like, you're going to marry a boat captain and you go, 'Well, I don't want the water.' We're trying to learn to compromise," the Gone Girl star admitted.
Jennifer confessed about the documentary, "I don't think [Ben] is very comfortable with me doing this, [but] he doesn't want to stop me."
Ben was also taken aback by J. Lo turning over her private collection of love letters from him to songwriters while working on her album This Is Me... Now.
"Things that are private I had always felt are sacred and special in part because they're private," the actor explained. "So, this was something of an adjustment for me."