MUMBAI: There was a time when Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck were the ultimate it couple of Hollywood. They hogged headlines with everything they did and the paparazzi would follow them around. They were hopelessly in love with each other and looked dreamy together. Every single picture they posed for, turned out to be sheer perfection and their fans could not stop gushing about them. Unlike how it usually works in Hollywood, the couple never kept their relationship under tight wraps. They were in love and never tried to hide it.

They even decided to take their relationship to the next level and got engaged. And even though people were rooting for them to find their happy ending together, things did not work out and they decided to call it quits.

Have a look at the timeline of their short but beautiful love story.

Falling in love

Ben and Jennifer reportedly met on the set of their film Gigli. While the film ended up bombed at the box office, Ben and Jen ended up falling for each other while shooting the movie and started dating. Shipped as Bennifer, the couple made several jaw-dropping red carpet appearances together and never shied away from displaying their affection for each other publically.

Jenny from the Block

Ben even featured in the music video of one of JLo’s smash hit Jenny From The Block, which came out in 2002. The two basically documented their relationship in the popular MV. The clip included a montage of paparazzi clips in which they can be seen dodging the cameras. Ben can be seen getting all cozy and handsy with JLo throughout the video. The MV was shot towards the beginning of their relationship. They did tease the proposal towards the end of the video.

Popping the big question

After happily dating for a few months and falling head over heels in love with each other, the two decided they were ready to settle down with each other. Later in 2002, Ben popped the big question, and JLo said yes.

The pink diamond

Ben proposed the On The Floor singer with a 6-carat pink engagement ring and the rock instantly became the talk of the town. The beautiful ring got all the attention and ended up hogging headlines for all the right reasons. It was a unique engagement ring and people could not get over it. Her fans were crazy about her ring and she showed it off during various media interactions and red carpet appearances.

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Postponing the wedding

After the two got engaged, they started planning their wedding. The two were about to throw a lavish wedding and it was scheduled to take place in September 2003. But they called it off and decided to postpone the ceremony, just a few days before their special day. In a joint statement, the couple stated that they decided to postpone the ceremony because of the media. “Due to the excessive media attention surrounding our wedding, we have decided to postpone the date,” the actors said.

“When we found ourselves seriously contemplating hiring three separate ‘decoy brides’ at three different locations, we realized that something was awry. We began to feel that the spirit of what should have been the happiest day of our lives could be compromised. We felt what should have been a joyful and sacred day could be spoiled for us, our families, and our friends" they added.

Calling it off

After postponing the wedding, the couple finally called off their wedding. It was announced that JLo had ended their relationship. Later during an interview with Vanity Fair, the songstress opened up about the heartbreaking split and mentioned, "I lost my sense of self, questioned if I belonged in this business, thought maybe I did suck at everything." An insider later told New York Post that Ben realised that he was not ready to settle down, People reported.

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Credits: Pinkvilla