Is This How Jennifer Lopez And Ben Affleck Got The Nickname Bennifer?

Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck earned their very own couple name when they first started dating in the early 2000s. In fact, they were one of the very first celeb couples to be given a couple name, paving the way for nicknames like Brangelina (Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie) and Kimye (Kim Kardashian and Kanye West). Lopez and Affleck are known as Bennifer, which is simply a combination of both of their first names. And while you might be thinking that some journalist somewhere just decided to create a Lopez/Affleck portmanteau, there actually might be more to it.

The actors met back in 2001 while working together on the film "Gigli," according to Pop Sugar. At the time, Lopez was married to Cris Judd, but the two soon divorced leaving Lopez able to pursue a romance with Affleck. They dated, fell in love, and got engaged, and the media had "Bennifer" in just about every other headline. When Bennifer ended their engagement, fans were devastated. A source told People that "it was hard to merge their two lifestyles," and so they decided to part ways. Over the years, Bennifer became a distant memory as both Lopez and Affleck moved on, got married (and started families) with other people. Now that the two have been hanging out together, Bennifer is back — though it's now Bennifer 2.0 — and someone has spoken out about the nickname. Read on for more.

Entertainment Tonight previously reported that Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck are "just friends," but things seem to be going in a different direction. The two spent "several days together" in Montana, a source told People magazine in a report published on May 10, and it didn't take long for Bennifer to trend on social media. Just about everyone is wondering if these two are reigniting their romance, nearly two decades later.

And since we're undoubtedly going to be seeing Bennifer making headlines quite a bit in the coming weeks, it's important to know that it probably wasn't a journalist or a media outlet that came up with the catchy couple name. It was apparently Kevin Smith. The actor took to Twitter on May 10 to let everyone know that he created the moniker. "Bennifer is trending," Smith tweeted, adding. "It's a name I first gave the kids during 'Jersey Girl' pre-production, before the world found out they were dating. I'd later drop the name in an interview with the [New York Times]. Shortly thereafter, it appeared in the article and then entered the vernacular." And there you have it.