"Jennifer Lopez Clung to Hope Before Divorce, While Ben Affleck Was Resolute on Separation"

Jennifer Lopez was “holding out hope” that she and estranged husband Ben Affleck could work through their issues before she filed for divorce, an insider exclusively tells Life & Style.

“This has been a long time coming. Jen and Ben have been separated since March when the marriage began to really fall apart and Ben asked for space,” the source tells Life & Style.

While Jennifer, 55, hoped that the “space would help” her and Ben, 52, mend their marital woes, the insider says that “ultimately the marriage was not fixable.”

“Ben had no intention of working on things and the more time they spent apart the more clear it became to him that this marriage was a mistake,” the source concludes.

Rumors of their issues began to swirl in May when In Touch reported that Jennifer and Ben were “headed for a divorce” and that he had already moved out of their shared home. They put their shared Beverly Hills home on the market in early July, and the Gone Girl actor purchased a new property in Brentwood, California, for $20 million later that month.

The pair – who tied the knot in 2022 – continued to fuel split rumors by spending the summer apart and ditching their wedding bands on several public outings. However, their breakup was not confirmed until Jennifer filed for divorce on Tuesday, August 20, after two years of marriage. She filed the paperwork on the anniversary of their second wedding, which took place at Ben’s Georgia estate.

In the filing, the “On the Floor” singer stated that their date of separation was April 26, 2024. Jennifer filed the paperwork without an attorney, and she didn’t reveal if she and Ben agreed to a prenup.

Prior to the divorce filing, an additional insider exclusively told Life & Style on August 14 that Ben and Jennifer were “only [talking] through lawyers.”

“Jennifer thinks Ben’s being an insensitive brat and wants him to man up, quit the brutal mind games and treat her with more respect,” the source continued. “She’s not going to take being treated so poorly anymore. J. Lo’s ready to fight — this means war.”

In the weeks leading up to the divorce filing, Jennifer had been photographed appearing in good spirits during several outings around the Hamptons. “J. Lo feels she’s kept her side of the street clean with the way she’s handled this situation,” the insider previously shared. “She found it very difficult to accept in the beginning, but when Ben requested space, she gave it to him with zero trash talking or game playing.”

The source added that Ben also “seemed to share J. Lo’s view that they needed to put on a united front while being respectful toward each other, even from afar.”

Meanwhile, a third source previously told Life & Style that Jennifer was determined to improve her physical health amid their split. “J. Lo’s convinced that the best revenge is looking good, so she’s thrown herself into a total body makeover, to the detriment of pretty much every other part of her life,” the insider said.

After noting she was doing daily two-hour sessions with her personal trainer, the source said Jennifer could not “stand the idea that people think she’s sitting home alone crying over Ben.”

“So even though the last thing she wants to do is put on a smile for the cameras, she forces herself to do it,” the insider stated.