Officially husband and wife! Two decades after the original Bennifer romance, Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck are married, and the singer is gushing about their nuptials.
“We did it. Love is beautiful. Love is kind. And it turns out love is patient. Twenty years patient,” Lopez, 52, wrote in her “On the JLo” newsletter on Sunday, July 17, hours after Us Weekly confirmed they tied the knot.
“Exactly what we wanted. Last night we flew to Vegas, stood in line for a license with four other couples, all making the same journey to the wedding capital of the world,” she recalled. “Behind us two men held hands and held each other. In front of us, a young couple who made the three hour drive from Victorville on their daughter’s second birthday — all of us wanting the same thing — for the world to recognize us as partners and to declare our love to the world through the ancient and nearly universal symbol of marriage.”
The singer said they “barely made it” to The Little White Wedding Chapel before midnight. The venue stayed open late for Affleck, 49, and Lopez to finally say “I do” after getting engaged in April.
The snapped photos in a pink Cadillac, and Lopez explained that she and Affleck opted not to be married by an Elvis impersonator. “If we wanted Elvis himself to show, that cost extra and he was in bed,” she joked.
She thanked the venue for staying open and allowing her to use the break room to change into her wedding dress while the Deep Water star used the men’s restroom for his wardrobe change.
“So with the best witnesses you could ever imagine, a dress from an old movie and a jacket from Ben’s closet, we read our own vows in the little chapel and gave one another the rings we’ll wear for the rest of our lives,” Lopez said. “They even had Bluetooth for a (short) march down the aisle. But in the end it was the best possible wedding we could have imagined. One we dreamed of long ago and one made real (in the eyes of the state, Las Vegas, a pink convertible and one another) at very, very long last.”
She continued: “When love is real, the only thing that matters in marriage is one another and the promise we make to love, care, understand, be patient, loving and good to one another. We had that. And so much more. Best night of our lives.”
The singer added a shoutout to their children, noting that they’re surrounded by their love for each other and their big, blended family.
“We are so grateful to have that in abundance, a new wonderful family of five amazing children and a life that we have never had more reason to look forward to,” she concluded. “Stick around long enough and maybe you’ll find the best moment of your life in a drive through in Las Vegas at 12:30 in the morning in the tunnel of love drive through, with your kids and the one you’ll spend forever with. Love is a great thing, maybe the best of things — and worth waiting for.”
She signed the newsletter, “Mrs. Jennifer Lynn Affleck.”
Us Weekly confirmed on Sunday that the twosome had obtained a marriage license in Clark County, Nevada, on Saturday night. A source told Us at the time that the two just couldn’t wait any longer to get hitched.
“They both thought it was a fun and casual way to tie the knot,” the insider exclusively told Us.
The Marry Me star and the Argo director, who were previously engaged between 2002 and 2004, rekindled their romance in May 2021 following her split from ex-fiancé Alex Rodriguez.
“Ben and Jen [felt] so close to each other very quickly,” an insider exclusively told Us at the time. “The old flame is absolutely rekindled. They picked up where they left off in terms of affection for each other. … They both respect and trust each other.”
The pair’s reignited connection continued to heat up as Lopez captured many of their romantic milestones via her social media pages and her “On The J. Lo” newsletter. The twosome made their red carpet debut post-reunion in September 2021 at the Venice International Film Festival premiere of Affleck’s movie The Last Duel.
The twosome later announced in April that they had gotten engaged for a second time with an 8.5-carat natural green diamond ring in Lopez’s lucky color.
“Saturday night while at my favorite place on earth (in the bubble bath), my beautiful love got on one knee and proposed,” the “On My Way” songstress wrote via her newsletter at the time. “I was taken totally off guard and just looked in his eyes smiling and crying at the same time.”
She added: “I was quite literally speechless and he said, ‘Is that a yes?’ I said, ‘YES of course that’s a YES.’ I was smiling so big and tears were coming down my face, feeling so incredibly happy and whole. … It was nothing fancy at all, but it was the most romantic thing I could’ve ever imagined…just a quiet Saturday night at home, two people promising to always be there for each other. Two very lucky people. Who got a second chance at true love.”
This is the Tender Bar star’s second marriage after he previously wed Jennifer Garner — with whom he shares daughters Violet, 16, and Seraphina, 13, and son Samuel, 10 — in June 2005. The now-exes announced their separation in June 2015. Lopez, for her part, has previously been married three times to Ojani Noa from 1997 to 1998, Cris Judd from 2001 to 2003 and Marc Anthony from 2004 to 2014. The Shades of Blue alum shares twins Max and Emme, both 14, with the “Vivir Mi Vida” singer, 53.