It’s True: Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck Are Engaged (Again!)

(Image credit: Getty Images)

published 9 April 2022

Nearly two decades after Ben Affleck first proposed to Jennifer Lopez in November 2002—that time, famously, with a pink six-carat Harry Winston diamond ring—Affleck presented Lopez with a diamond of another hue: Green, which Lopez says is her “lucky color.”

The multihyphenate (dancer-actress-singer-mogul) Lopez announced the couple’s engagement Friday night via her newsletter, On the JLo, despite being seen wearing the ring earlier in the week in public and generating substantial buzz. Prior to sharing the news, Lopez teased that she had a “major announcement” via Twitter, saying “So, I have a really exciting and special story to share…” and adding a diamond ring emoji to her Twitter handle. (Tell me you’re engaged without telling me you’re engaged 101.) The ring is a green stone set on a silver band—British Vogue reports that, while emeralds have grown in popularity among brides-to-be in recent years, “a green-hued diamond is particularly special—considered one of the rarest types of fancy diamond.”

In a previous edition of her newsletter, Lopez detailed her love for the color green and what it means to her, writing “I always say the color green is my lucky color. Maybe you can remember a certain green dress,” referencing the iconic jungle-print Versace gown Lopez wore to the 2000 Grammys. “I’ve realized there are many moments in my life where amazing things happened when I was wearing green. It may be a coincidence; maybe not. But as I took a better look, I realized there are no coincidences.”

Even before getting engaged in late 2002, the pair—known then as the infamous portmanteau “Bennifer”—were the “it couple” of the era, with so much pressure put upon their relationship that it ultimately imploded in early 2004, not long after they postponed their September 2003 wedding. Since splitting, Lopez went on to marry singer Marc Anthony, with whom she shares twins Emme and Max; Affleck married actress Jennifer Garner, with whom he shares children Violet, Seraphina, and Samuel. Lopez and Affleck reconnected romantically during the pandemic, becoming a couple again last summer.

“I don’t think anybody was more surprised than us,” Lopez told Ellen DeGeneres on the latter's eponymous talk show while promoting her most recent film, appropriately titled Marry Me. “You never could imagine that something like that could happen. It’s a beautiful thing.”

For his part, Affleck told WSJ. Magazine in December that he felt “lucky” to have been given second chances, both professionally and personally.

“I’ve had second chances in my career. I’ve had second chances as a human being,” he told the outlet. “Life is difficult, and we are always failing and hopefully learning from those failures. The one thing you really need to avail yourself of the opportunities provided from that growth is the second chance. I’ve definitely tried to take advantage of that. I haven’t always been successful, but in cases in which I have, they’ve turned out to be the defining aspects of my life.”

No word yet on wedding plans—stay tuned.

Rachel Burchfield is a writer, editor, and podcaster whose primary interests are fashion and beauty, society and culture, and, most especially, the British Royal Family and other royal families around the world. She serves as Marie Claire’s Senior Celebrity and Royals Editor and has also contributed to publications like Allure, Cosmopolitan, Elle, Glamour, Harper’s Bazaar, InStyle, People, Vanity Fair, Vogue, and W, among others. Before taking on her current role with Marie Claire, Rachel served as its Weekend Editor and later Royals Editor. She is the cohost of Podcast Royal, a show that was named a top five royal podcast by The New York Times. A voracious reader and lover of books, Rachel also hosts I’d Rather Be Reading, which spotlights the best current nonfiction books hitting the market and interviews the authors of them. Rachel frequently appears as a media commentator, and she or her work has appeared on outlets like NBC’s Today Show, ABC’s Good Morning America, CNN, and more.