All The Reasons Ben Affleck And Jennifer Lopez's Reunion Doesn't Add Up

Let's close our eyes and think back to a much simpler time in history — or, at least, to the year 2002. Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez were two of the hottest young stars in Hollywood. Lopez already had an established music career and was building up her acting portfolio, whereas Affleck was enjoying continuous success in the acting industry. Thanks to their film "Gigli," Affleck and Lopez would cross paths and eventually fall in love, though their story would become ever so complicated.

According to Us Weekly, Lopez and Affleck met on the film's set in 2002, though Lopez was married to ex-husband Chris Judd at the time. The singer and actor filed for divorce from Judd in June 2002 and quickly began dating Affleck — in fact, the two actors were engaged by November of the same year! By 2003, however, "Bennifer" called off their wedding, and by early 2004, the iconic couple was no more.

Now, flash-forward to 2021. After nearly 20 years since Bennifer's initial reign, he two have allegedly fallen back into a pretty hot and heavy relationship. While many people are relishing in Lopez and Affleck's reunion, others are a bit skeptical of it all, especially since the relationship is moving so quickly. So, could Bennifer 2.0 be a complete publicity stunt? Let's take a look at all the reasons why their reunion does not quite add up.

When Jennifer Lopez was linked to Ben Affleck in April 2021, it was surprising for a number of reasons, but a big one was that Lopez had just ended her engagement to Alex Rodriguez!

Before there was a possible Bennifer reunion, Lopez had been in a relationship with A-Rod for several years. Since 2017, Lopez and Rodriguez were one of the hottest couples in Hollywood, and after getting engaged in 2019, many fans thought that Lopez had finally found "the one." Unfortunately, not everything is as it seems from an outside perspective, and the duo eventually called it quits in April 2021, saying that they are "better as friends" (via TODAY).

Of course, there was plenty of drama swirling around their breakup, mostly revolving around possible infidelity on A-Rod's part. While many fans thought that Lopez may lay low for a while following the split, they were shocked to see Lopez reportedly seeing Affleck again the very same month that she and Rodriguez announced their split. Is Affleck just a rebound for Lopez? Or, better yet, is he a distraction from speculation about Lopez and Rodriguez's breakup? The fast-paced timeline between her split with A-Rod and her reunion with Affleck is definitely raising eyebrows for many fans, especially since it seemingly happened in the blink of an eye.

While Jennifer Lopez and Alex Rodriguez's breakup was definitely making a lot of headlines, Ben Affleck was drawing in a few headlines of his own, as well — and they were not necessarily the most flattering.

Unfortunately for Affleck, he started 2021 off on a slightly sour note as he and his year-long girlfriend, fellow actor Ana de Armas, broke things off in January. According to People, the split was "amicable," though the news did come after a year of a pretty public relationship between the two. 

Shortly after the Affleck and de Armas' breakup headlines, the "Argo" actor ran into even more dating drama surrounding the dating app Raya. Affleck was a long-rumored Raya user, but his name came up again when a TikTok user, Nivine Jay, shared a video that Affleck had allegedly sent her after she unmatched with him on the dating app. "Nivine, why did you unmatch me?" Affleck asks in the video clip, via Page Six. "It's me." According to Jay, Affleck sent her the video message on Instagram, meaning that he would have had to go out of his way to find her account and message her, since she had unmatched with him on Raya. 

While many people found the video to be funny, others found it to be a bit creepy. Is it possible that Affleck and Lopez's out-of-nowhere reunion was planned to steal attention away from the Raya story?

Considering the odd timeframe behind Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez's reunion, many fans are pretty convinced that it may not be the fairytale love story that it seems to be. Both Affleck and Lopez were grabbing headlines for unflattering reasons right before they got back together. In the brief months since they have been spotted together, their reunion is the only thing people talk about when their names pop up. So is it all just a well-orchestrated PR stunt?

Many fans on Twitter have opinions about the matter. "It's so sweet that JLo was willing to fake date Ben Affleck to bury that story about him sliding into that girl's DMs for unmatching with him," one user tweeted, suggesting that the Bennifer reunion was a guise to take attention away from Affleck's Raya drama. "Ben Affleck and jlo are in a fake relationship but i do support it," another user declared. "Culturally we NEED more celebs in fake relationships making out for photo ops PLEASE I don't ask for much but this is what I'm asking for," they continued, while also tweeting a picture of Affleck and Lopez publicly sharing a passionate kiss. 

While plenty of fans believe that Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck's reunion is a publicity stunt to draw attention away from her breakup with Alex Rodriguez and his Raya dating app drama, others believe that it's simply moving too fast to be real.

When rumors first cropped up that the former flames were seeing each other again, it was mostly speculation. Now, just a few months into their supposed reunion, there's quite a bit of evidence that they are definitely an item — or at least are pretending to be. Lopez was spotted wearing Affleck's flannel shirt, the two shared a passionate kiss while out at dinner (via Page Six), and according to People, Affleck even invited Lopez's mom, Guadalupe, to film a cameo in Las Vegas for a secret project!

Needless to say, things are moving fast between Lopez and Affleck, and they are making their moves pretty publicly. Despite these public moves, however, neither Lopez nor Affleck have commented on the relationship at all. At first glance, it makes sense that they are not confirming or denying their relationship to keep things private. But, upon closer inspection, this explanation doesn't make much sense, especially since the duo seems to be going out of their way to keep people speculating about their relationship status. 

Ever since Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez were linked in April 2021, fans and celebrities alike have been fawning over the idea of Bennifer 2.0. While the fast-paced and seemingly out-of-nowhere reunion has been suspicious for some fans, others are genuinely convinced that the duo's relationship is real and that it will last.

"I hope Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez are in it for the long haul," one user tweeted, also arguing that the couple's harsh media scrutiny is what destroyed their relationship the first time around. "If it wasn't for the racist media back then, things might not have gone the way they did. Second chances are marvelous no matter how it works out."

"Good for Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez. Take the movie star glam away and it's just a couple souls trying to recapture what overwhelmed them as younger people," another user chimed in, agreeing that Bennifer 2.0 may be in it for the long haul. "They're older, wiser, and seem to be having a good time. I hope it lasts. Finding love in this dark world isn't easy."

Fans are definitely divided about Bennifer's reunion — some believe it's fake and a total PR stunt, whereas others are pretty convinced that they are in love. Ultimately, only Affleck and Lopez know the truth behind their relationship, so we'll have to wait and see where the relationship goes from here!