What Jennifer Lopez is seeking in Ben Affleck divorce

Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez in happier times, attending the Los Angeles premiere of This Is Me… Now: A Love Story at the Dolby Theatre in February. Photo / Lionel Hahn, WireImage
Just two years after their lavish Georgia wedding, Jennifer Lopez has filed for divorce from Ben Affleck.
It’s widely known that the couple did not have a prenuptial agreement in place, and more details of their divorce settlement have now been revealed, according to E! News.
Lopez filed for divorce at the Los Angeles County Superior Court on August 20. The documents seen by TMZ reportedly confirm that she’s waived her right to spousal support from Affleck, and has requested that the judge deny him spousal support as well.
Los Angeles family lawyer Roz Soudry told NBC News she was “surprised” to hear the celebrity couple didn’t have a prenuptial agreement.
“I would think their business managers, their accountants, their attorneys would’ve insisted on one,” she said.
In California, if a couple divorces without a pre-nup, then any assets acquired during the marriage, from bank accounts to retirement earnings and property, are split equally between the ex-partners.
Earlier this year, Lopez and Affleck quietly listed their Beverly Hills home for sale, with both going on to look for new properties separately.
It’s likely that the most difficult assets to divide will be intellectual property rather than real estate, LA divorce lawyer Christopher Melcher told NBC News.
“For this couple, there could be a future stream of income and that’s where it gets really difficult and painful,” Melcher said.
“Let’s say there’s a movie project in the works or there’s a sequel, these things that can happen years after a split, could still be community property and be subject to being shared.”
Soudry said that considering the pair were only married for two years after rekindling their relationship, there might not be many assets to consider. “They’re probably already close to some kind of settlement, again, given that it’s only a two-year marriage.”
Affleck and Lopez met in 2001, announcing their engagement the very next year. Days before the wedding was set to take place, the couple announced that they were postponing the ceremony over “excessive media attention”.
That postponement lasted 20 years, with each going on to marry other people and have children. They reunited in 2021 and announced their engagement in 2022. They married in a small, intimate ceremony, before holding a second lavish family wedding in Georgia.
Throughout 2023, rumours of strife in the relationship circulated. By May 2024, the couple hadn’t been seen together since March this year.
Documents filed by Lopez this week confirmed the marriage is over.