Jennifer Lopez Shares Telling Story About Ben Affleck Amid Split Rumors

Entertainment gossip and news from Newsweek’s network of contributors

Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck may be currently engulfed by split speculation, but that didn’t stop the singer from sharing the story about her first engagement ring from the actor.

Amid reports that the couple are living separately, Lopez appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live! — seemingly wearing her wedding ring — where she briefly mentioned Affleck and the original engagement ring he gifted her back in the early 2000s. (The Gigli costars initially began dating in 2002 and got engaged soon after, postponing their wedding in 2003 before ultimately calling it quits in 2004.)

Recalling to Kimmel the time she met Barbra Streisand on the red carpet, Lopez mentioned that the legendary singer commented on her rock from Affleck.

“She kinda was like asking to look at my engagement ring at the time, that Ben had given me years ago,'” the “Jenny From the Block” artist explained, adding that Streisand — her idol — commented: “‘So that’s a big diamond.'”

Lopez agreed. “And I’m like, ‘Yes it is,'” she remembered telling Streisand.

Fans will remember that Lopez’s original engagement ring from Affleck was a 6.1-carat pink diamond from celebrity jewelry Harry Winston. When the Oscar winner popped the question to Lopez for the second time nearly 20 years later — the pair rekindled their romance in 2021 and wed in 2022 — he managed to level up even more, gifting the “Waiting for Tonight” singer an 8.5-carat rock with a green diamond stone in the center. The band is also engraved with the phrase “Not. Going. Anywhere,” which is how Affleck would sign off his emails with Lopez after they reconnected. (“Like, ‘Don’t worry, I’m not going anywhere,'” she told Zane Lowe in 2022.)

Lopez is currently in the midst of promo for her new movie, Atlas. In addition to appearing on Kimmel on Monday, she also attended the premiere of the film solo amid alleged tension with Affleck. The actor reportedly moved out of the couple’s Beverly Hills home and has his own place in Brentwood.

Despite the drama — including Lopez “liking” an Instagram post about unhealthy relationships, as well as rumors that Affleck doesn’t like having their romance in the spotlight as much as Lopez allegedly does — the couple famously nicknamed “Bennifer” have appeared to put on a united front as much as possible over the past few days, smiling when being photographed together in L.A. and even attending Affleck’s child Fin’s school play last week.