What’s going on with Bennifer 2.0? Jennifer Lopez’s tour cancellation amplifies Ben Affleck divorce rumours

Is Bennifer 2.0 about to go the same way the first incarnation of the relationship went?

The rumour mill certainly thinks so — and the break up theories are not without compelling evidence.

Late on Friday, Jennifer Lopez announced that she was cancelling her “This Is Me … Live!” tour, planned for this summer.

The reason? “Jennifer is taking time off to be with her children, family and close friends,” a representative said.

Lopez added in a “special message to my JLovers” that she was “completely heartsick and devastated about letting you down. Please know that I wouldn’t do this if I didn’t feel that it was absolutely necessary.”

The reason it’s necessary is a subject of some debate. Some, like gossip blogger Perez Hilton, have claimed that she’s struggled to sell tickets.

Others, like the tabloid Page Six, claim that this isn’t the reason for the tour cancellation. Instead, they quote sources who say she’s doing it for “personal reasons” — and those may just be a pending end of the second chance romance which she sings about on the album she was meant to be touring.

Three years ago, Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck reunited nearly two decades after they ended the high-profile relationship Noughties tabloid dubbed “Bennifer.” They got engaged in early 2022, and were married in Vegas last July.

Less than six months later, however, speculation is swirling that the fairy tale might be ending yet again.

Earlier this month, Us Weekly quoted an insider who claimed that the couple were having “issues in their marriage.” The blame was laid at Lopez’s door: She was “completely focused on work,” leaving them on “completely different pages most of the time.”

Around this time, Lopez went to the Met Gala on her own, a development quickly followed by reports that they were living in different houses, with Affleck renting his own place near the $60-million (U.S.) home they bought together in Beverly Hills last year.

In mid-May, People — generally a solid source of celebrity information — quoted a source who confirmed these rumours, adding that Lopez “seems OK.” According to People, the trouble began “a few months ago,” and the couple didn’t spend Mother’s Day together this year. (Both have children from other relationships.)

More recently, Lopez did the press tour for her new movie — Atlas, debuted at No. 1 on Netflix in 55 countries — without Affleck, who stayed in L.A. to film his own latest project.

And about Affleck: According to a source cited by Page Six, the actor and director has been so unhappy in this marriage that “if there was a way to divorce on grounds of temporary insanity, he would.”

They went on to say that Affleck regarded the last two years as a “fever dream,” and that “he’s come to his senses now and understands there is just no way this is going to work.”

Possible corroborating evidence for this can be found in a viral video, which showed Affleck slamming a car door after holding it for Lopez as she got into the vehicle. The internet remarked on how “miserable” and “tired” he seemed in the clip.

And while all of this could be seen as pointing toward an imminent divorce announcement, there are some counterpoints: Lopez has still been wearing her rings (but Affleck has not) and the couple have been seen together several times in the last weeks.

They walked a red carpet together on May 12, sharing what Buzzfeed dubbed a “steamy kiss” for the cameras — a possible attempt at smoothing over these break up rumours that may have backfired when they were seen having what appeared to be a tense conversation that same night. (The Daily Mail’s lip reader refutes this, claiming Lopez was actually just asking him if her dress was “showing too much.”)

Most recently, they were spotted together at Affleck’s daughter Violet’s high school graduation ceremony earlier this week.

What this all means for the future (or lack thereof) of Bennifer 2.0 remains to be seen. Watch this space?