"Bennifer" was the snide, irreverent nickname given to the celebrity couple, Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck. The couple received an unprecedented amount of media attention as Hollywood’s most scrutinized celebrity union since Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton ignited the tabloid pages in the 1960s. A whirlwind love affair was sparked when the couple met on the set of their mega-flop movie Gigli and the went on to become so inseparable that the media irreverently dubbed them “Bennifer."

Their glamorous, high-profile relationship spanned 18 months and included a much-hyped engagement, a 6-carat Harry Winston diamond engagement ring, a disastrous joint appearance in a notorious box office bomb, an aborted wedding fiasco, and a prolonged breakup, culminating in their split on January 20, 2004, with both blaming media attention. They extravagantly flaunted their love across the United States with scenes of public canoodling and by multi-million-dollar gifts, including Bentley cars and huge diamond rings.[1] The saturation of Affleck/Lopez interviews and projects resulted in each losing both fans and credibility.

Affleck and Lopez met and fell in love on the set of the movie (and notorious box office bomb) Gigli. In July of 2002, less than two months after Jen's split from second husband Cris Judd was announced, Ben threw Jen a party for her 33rd birthday and presented her with a Harry Winston bracelet of yellow and gold diamonds. When Ben proposed in the fall, he left no romantic stone unturned. He took her to his mom's Boston-area home, which was decorated with rose petals. Jen's music was playing in the background. He then began to read a letter detailing the reasons why he loved her before getting down on one knee and presenting her with the famous 6-carat, pink-diamond, engagement ring.[2]

Gigli

The two were supposed to tie the knot on September 14, 2003 on the California coast, but abruptly canceled their plans just days before the ceremony. Us Weekly magazine had reported that the vows and reception would occur at Sotto Il Monte, a private $29 million estate in the Montecito area, near Santa Barbara. Guests, including Matt Damon, Bruce Willis, Matthew Perry and Alec Baldwin, were set to be shuttled to the wedding from nearby resort hotels, the magazine said. Despite the couple's efforts to keep the wedding under wraps by having vendors sign confidentiality agreements and refusing to tell the 400 guests the location of the event, details of the celebration began to leak at a break-neck pace. As news spread, hotel rooms in and around the usually quiet seaside town of Santa Barbara, CA, were sold out as the media moved in.

Then, four days before the wedding, the couple confirmed they were delaying their nuptials and blamed the intense media scrutiny for their decision. In a joint statement, they said, "Due to the excessive media attention surrounding our wedding, we have decided to postpone the date. When we found ourselves seriously contemplating hiring three separate 'decoy brides' at three different locations, we realized that something was awry. We felt what should have been a joyful and sacred day could be spoiled for us, our family and our friends." Insiders led ET to believe that Jennifer personally made the calls to advise guests and was said to be very upset and difficult to understand through her tears. [3]

The tumultuous 18-month romance purportedly ended January 20, just three days after Ben returned to Los Angeles from the Sundance Film Festival. The decision was reportedly mutual.

Affleck and Lopez split four months after the abrupt cancellation of their very high-profile September 2003 wedding, which they called off saying the media attention on the much-hyped event, had become overwhelming.

Blame for the bust-up is being placed on Affleck's inability to settle down. According to Us Magazine, Lopez was anxious to marry and start a family with the teetotaling but hard-partying, gambling-loving Affleck, and wasn't thrilled when he was snapped Jan. 10 with buddy Matt Damon surrounded by a bevy of lovelies in a German nightclub. "She was tired of waiting for him to come around," a source tells the magazine. [4]