Jennifer Lopez appeared solemn and solo in New York City the day she officially separated from Ben Affleck.
Lopez, 55, filed for divorce from her husband of two years on Tuesday, August 20, citing April 26 as their date of separation, Us Weekly confirmed on Tuesday. That’s three months before the couple’s second wedding anniversary in July.
On the day in question, the Atlas star was spotted exiting an apartment block in New York City alone while wearing a beige sweater, oversized blue jeans and sunglasses. Lopez was photographed carrying a large Birkin bag.
Meanwhile, Affleck, 52, was next photographed publicly on May 2 when he took a stroll in Los Angeles. Three days later, the actor and director appeared on stage at Netflix’s The Roast of Tom Brady, which streamed live from Kia Forum in L.A. on May 5.
Us confirmed on Tuesday that Lopez had filed for divorce. The singer submitted the paperwork herself instead of through a lawyer, on the second anniversary of the couple’s Georgia wedding ceremony. Lopez and Affleck married in July 2022 in a private ceremony in Las Vegas and then had a second wedding with family and friends in Georgia on August 20, 2022.
Lopez’s divorce filing comes after months of speculation over the estranged couple’s relationship status. In May, it was reported that the couple had not been spotted together in 47 days. They then appeared to put on a united front when they were seen together on May 16 — nearly a month after Lopez said they officially separated.
At the time, a source exclusively told Us that “Jen and Ben are having issues in their marriage,” but had not called it quits.
“They started having issues a few months ago as Jen had started ramping up work commitments and prepping for her tour,” the insider added. (Lopez subsequently canceled her This Is Me… Live tour on May 31. “Jennifer is taking time off to be with her children, family and close friends,” concert promoter Live Nation noted in an email announcement.)
Around the same time, a second source told Us that Affleck had moved out of the couple’s $60 million Beverly Hills home “several weeks ago.” The couple listed the mansion for sale in July and Affleck has purchased his own home in Los Angeles.
“They decided to list the house very recently, within the last week,” an insider told Us in July. “They thought they could sell it off-market but made a game-time decision in order to put more eyes on the property. They are in a rush to sell it. Ben especially wants to be done with the house. He was never happy there.”