J. Lo And Ben Were Photographed At A Friend’s B-Day Party And It’s On IG

In a moment fans have been waiting for since they were first photographed together in May 2021 — and for some, since the pre-Instagram days of 2002 — Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck are Instagram official. Well, kind of. Affleck and J. Lo aren’t on each other’s grids yet, but they did make an appearance at actress Leah Remini’s birthday party, and they did appear in her subsequent Instagram post commemorating the event. Maybe this doesn’t count as an official debut, but it’s still a win for Bennifer fans.

On July 22, Remini shared a video montage of photos from her star-studded birthday party. About 30 seconds in, there’s a black-and-white photo of Remini, J.Lo, and Affleck. Although the three are posing together, Affleck’s arm around J.Lo’s shoulder and her hand on his chest is Big Couple Energy.

Although Remini, a longtime friend of J.Lo’s, didn’t reveal many specific details about the party, she turned 51 on June 15, and wrote that the event took place “not that long ago.” It’s safe to say Bennifer is still going strong — but who’s surprised? Just a few weeks ago, on July 9, multiple sources photographed the pair snuggling up to each other while shopping in Los Angeles. And this week, on July 21, a source told People that “everything is running smoothly,” and J.Lo’s children have been “slowly” getting to know Affleck.

“Even though their split many years ago was devastating for Jennifer, she has never had a bad word to say about Ben,” the insider told People. “She believes that it just wasn't meant to be then and feels like they've been given a second chance.”

J. Lo and Affleck first met on the set of Gigli in early 2002. After a whirlwind romance, they got engaged in November 2002, only to postpone their wedding. In January 2004, they announced they’d broken up. “I think Jen and I made a mistake in that we fell in love, we were excited and maybe too accessible,” Affleck reflected in a 2008 Live interview. “I don’t think either of us anticipated the degree to which it would take on a world of its own.”

But sometimes, time does heal everything. In May 2021, rumors started flying that the two newly single stars reunited, and they’ve reportedly been inseparable since. “When the time is right and assuming things continue to evolve romantically between them, likely a month or two, they’ll probably go Instagram official or step out hand in hand at a restaurant somewhere,” a source told Us Weekly on May 20. It’s been — what, two months? At this point, an official Instagram debut is imminent, but at least we have this cute pic in the meantime.