Jennifer Lopez Requests to Drop “Affleck” From Her Last Name

The pop star officially filed for divorce after two years of marriage.

Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez are seen out and about on March 30, 2024 in New York, New York.
(Image credit: Getty Images)

Earlier this week, Jennifer Lopez officially called it quits and filed for divorce from Ben Affleck after just two years of marriage.

According to reports, the actress and singer filed without a lawyer, and to perhaps the surprise of many there is no prenuptial agreement addressed in the paperwork.

In the same filing, according to court documents obtained by People, Lopez took it one step further and petitioned the court to have her maiden name—Jennifer Lynn Lopez—restored, dropping her soon-to-be ex-husband's last name from her legal surname.

According to the publication, the actress and entrepreneur cited "irreconcilable differences" as the reason for the dissolution of her marriage, and in addition "indicated that she did not want her nor Affleck to be awarded spousal support."

"The exact nature and extent of separate property assets and obligations are unknown to Petitioner at this time," the paperwork states, according to the publication. "Petitioner reserves the right to amend this Petition when same is ascertained."

jennifer lopez ben affleck 2003

Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck in 2003.

(Image credit: REUTERS / Alamy Stock Photo)

In the wake of the couple's long-rumored split, recent comments Lopez made in one Rolling Stone interview the singer made less than a year after the two rekindled their early aughts romance are making the rounds.

During the interview, Lopez opened up about why she thought the pair would never break up again after finding each other two decades after the end of their engagement.

"I don’t think we would have got back together if we thought that was where it was headed," she told the outlet at the time. "We feel like what we found again is so much more important, and how we protect that and how we live our lives—what to share, what not to share—is the balance that we have now, the benefit of experience and the wisdom that we gained over the years."

While neither star has made any public comments in the wake of Lopez's divorce filings, sources claim that the singer was tired of being humiliated by Affleck and, as a result, chose to purposefully file for divorce on the two-year anniversary of their wedding celebration in Georgia.

"Jennifer said she was tired of being humiliated by Ben and she waited until the two year anniversary because she wanted to sting," a source claiming to be familiar with the situation told the Daily Mail. "But it did not sting him. He's been done for a long time and deep down she knows this. He let her have this so that she wouldn't look like the villain."

Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez

Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez

(Image credit: Getty Images/RB/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images)

Additional reporting indicates that Lopez assumed Affleck was a "changed man," only to find out that the same issues that plagued their early aughts relationship remained and ultimately led to the end of their marriage.

"He sold her on him being a changed man, and that lasted a very short time," another source recently told Page Six, adding that Affleck allegedly changed during the couple's honeymoon on Lake Como in Italy in 2022.

"He was unhappy with paparazzi following them," the source continued. "She is an international superstar, and he acted like it came as a surprise that they would be followed around.

"They would barely speak to each other during what was supposed to be the happiest time of their life," the source continued, while additional sources told the Daily Mail that Lopez's friends were less than impressed with Affleck's recent behavior. "

He was impossible to be married to," a source told the publication at the time. "Friends think he is selfish, sullen, impossible to please most of the time and negative. She was constantly trying to lift his spirits, boost him up—it was exhausting."

Danielle Campoamor
Weekend Editor

Danielle Campoamor is Marie Claire's weekend editor covering all things news, celebrity, politics, culture, live events, and more. In addition, she is an award-winning freelance writer and former NBC journalist with over a decade of digital media experience covering mental health, reproductive justice, abortion access, maternal mortality, gun violence, climate change, politics, celebrity news, culture, online trends, wellness, gender-based violence and other feminist issues. You can find her work in The New York Times, Washington Post, TIME, New York Magazine, CNN, MSNBC, NBC, TODAY, Vogue, Vanity Fair, Harper's Bazaar, Marie Claire, InStyle, Playboy, Teen Vogue, Glamour, The Daily Beast, Mother Jones, Prism, Newsweek, Slate, HuffPost and more. She currently lives in Brooklyn, New York with her husband and their two feral sons. When she is not writing, editing or doom scrolling she enjoys reading, cooking, debating current events and politics, traveling to Seattle to see her dear friends and losing Pokémon battles against her ruthless offspring. You can find her on X, Instagram, Threads, Facebook and all the places.