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Way before there was a J.Lo and A.Rod and certainly before Ben Affleck became the Caped Crusader — one A- list celebrity couple ruled Hollywood. Back in 2002 — Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck were the talk of the town. They were the first celeb couple to get a couple name — Bennifer, and they had a whirlwind romance that crashed and burned before our eyes.

Since this was nearly twenty years ago — many fans and the actors themselves have been able to look back on that time with fond memories while analyzing what exactly went wrong.

From what we can recall — Affleck proposed to Lopez with a massive pink diamond ring and suddenly he called the wedding off out of the blue. However, it appears that a lot more was at play than that.

Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez got together just as tabloid culture took off

The Hustlers actress has admitted in the past that she doesn’t enjoy being single. “I get scared to be alone…The first person who shows up and gives me a little comfort and we have a little chemistry, boom, we’re in!” she explained. Bennifer fell hard and fast for one another — and it didn’t help that people became absolutely obsessed with them.

“I think Jen and I made a mistake in that we fell in love, we were excited and maybe too accessible,” Affleck said in 2008.”I don’t think either of us anticipated the degree to which it would take on a world of its own.”

The Selena actress shared that sentiment. “We didn’t try to have a public relationship,” she told People in March 2016. “We just happened to be together at the birth of the tabloids, and it was like, ‘Oh my God.’ It was just a lot of pressure. I think different time, different thing, who knows what could’ve happened? But there was a genuine love there.”

Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez had very different lifestyles

We know now that Affleck struggles with alcoholism and substance abuse — but in the early 2000s, he was also a party boy. Lopez, on the other hand, is a workaholic who lives a very clean and structured lifestyle. “It was hard to merge their two lifestyles,” an insider told People.

The media attention prompted Bennifer to call off their wedding

Initially, the couple had planned a lavish wedding with 400 guests set for September 2003. However, just a few days before the big day, the duo postponed it.

“Due to the excessive media attention surrounding our wedding, we have decided to postpone the date,” they said in a joint statement. When we found ourselves seriously contemplating hiring three separate ‘decoy brides’ at three different locations, we realized that something was awry. We began to feel that the spirit of what should have been the happiest day of our lives could be compromised. We felt what should have been a joyful and sacred day could be spoiled for us, our families and our friends.”

Ben Affleck ultimately got cold feet

Ultimately, the postponement meant a cancellation. With the media frenzy — their suffering careers (we all remember Gigli) and their different lifestyles, ultimately the two were not a long-term match. “As the [wedding] date got closer, reality set in that this may not be the person Ben wants to spend the rest of his life with,” the insider said. “He started getting scared…What’s worse—marrying someone you don’t want to marry or calling off the wedding before it happens?” Lopez gave [Affleck] ultimatums. He never followed through. She finally realized they were never going to get married.”

However, these days the pair do stay in touch occasionally. “I respect her,” Affleck told The Hollywood Reporter in 2012. “I like her. She’s put up with some stuff that was unfair in her life, and I’m really pleased to see her successful.”

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