Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck secretly split earlier this year but continued to kept up appearances as if they were still a couple for several months.
The pair were spotted on a number of public outings together, including their very last one on June 2, after they had already decided to go their separate ways two months earlier.
At the time, they were seen greeting each other warmly, even appearing to give each other a kiss, as they attended Affleck’s 12-year-old son Samuel’s basketball game in Santa Monica.
Lopez and Affleck also appeared to be in high spirits while leaving together even though, as it is now revealed, they had already secretly called it off on April 26.
The revelation comes after Lopez officially filed for divorce from Affleck on Tuesday, August 20 — which is perhaps not-so-coincidentally the second anniversary of their second wedding ceremony.
Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck were last pictured together on June 2 in a public display of unity – even though they had secretly split months earlier according to the divorce filing which states the date of separation as
They even shared a kiss for the cameras as they attended Affleck’s 12-year-old son Samuel’s basketball game in Santa Monica
The couple first sparked separation rumors when they had gone 47 days without being seen together.
Split speculation continued as they did not spend a number of holidays over the summer together and Lopez also walked the red carpet alone at the Met Gala in May — which was also when Lopez called off her world tour ‘to be with her family.’
Since then, the pair have been spending summers on opposite coasts and did not spend their anniversary together.
In recent months, however, the pair have been spotted out together on a number of occasions as they had been trying to rekindle their romance.
After being noticed without their wedding rings on several outings, they also started making it noticeable that they were once again wearing their tokens of commitment.
Lopez was even seen paying Affleck a special visit on his birthday at his rental property in Brentwood, California.
The shocking divorce filing comes after they were seen stepping out together — and even occasionally putting on PDA several times — in an effort to maintain that they were reconciling in spite of being incessantly hounded by rumors of marital strife.
However, the public was largely unaware that they had already separated in secrecy on April 26, which is listed as their official date of separation, according to legal documents obtained by TMZ.
In the weeks before their secret split, the pair had been putting on PDA during their outings in late March and being very affectionate while house hunting together in New York City.
After celebrating Easter together in Brooklyn, Affleck returned to sunny California to film The Accountant 2.
In the following weeks, Lopez spend a majority of her time in New York City, but it appears that’s when the cracks started showing in their marriage as they would not be pictured together for over a month.
Just days prior to their secret split in mid-April, Lopez met up with Affleck’s best friend and business partner Matt Damon and his wife.
In the following weeks, Affleck skipped out on a number of his wife’s gigs in May including the premiere of her Netflix movie Atlas as well as her major role as a co-chair at the Met Gala.
After sparking speculation of turmoil in their marriage and spending 47 days apart, they seemingly started to present themselves as still together and going on public outings together.
On May 17, the couple finally reunited at Affleck’s second child Fin’s recital in Los Angeles.
Two weeks later, they were spotted arriving at Affleck’s eldest daughter Violet’s graduation party together, but there was a noticeable sense of tension.
Just the following day, they put on a rare display of PDA and were spotted holding hands while attending Violet’s high school graduation.
Even though it appeared as if they had reconciled, it appears they were maintaining a pretense as they hired a realtor to put their marital home up for sale just a week later.
Around the same time, it was reported that Affleck had already moved out of their mansion, which they purchased together just a year ago after a two-year hunt for their ‘dream home.’
Lopez and Affleck also appeared to be in high spirits while leaving together even though, as it is now revealed, they had already secretly called it off back in April
The revelation comes after Lopez officially filed for divorce from Affleck on Tuesday, August 20 — which is perhaps not-so-coincidentally the second anniversary of their second wedding ceremony
On April 26, which is listed as their official date of separation, according to legal documents obtained by TMZ, Lopez was seen on a solo outing in New York City