Jennifer Lopez draws inspiration from her love life for her music — and Ben Affleck has been her muse since their romance began.
The couple — famously dubbed Bennifer — began their whirlwind romance in 2002. Affleck and Lopez first connected on the set of the film Gigi where they played gangsters who fell in love. After Lopez split from then-husband Cris Judd in June 2002, she and Affleck went public with their romance. Lopez and the Oscar winner were engaged five months later.
In addition to their relationship milestones in that first year, Lopez released her album This Is Me … Then, which she dedicated to Affleck at the time. The album featured some of Lopez’s biggest songs, including “Jenny from the Block,” “All I Have,” “Baby I Love U,” “I’m Glad” and more.
Nearly two decades after the album’s release, Lopez reflected on how meaningful the record was to her.
“When I listened to that [album] on many, many different levels, those songs are more relevant today than they even were then,” she said in a July 2021 interview with Apple Music. “It was a real pure moment in time. And that music, when it’s important, it never goes away … love, it just doesn’t go away. It’s just there.”
Despite being happy and in love at first, the pair ultimately called off their wedding in 2004. Following their split, Lopez went on to wed Marc Anthony. Affleck, for his part, moved on with Jennifer Garner. Both relationships ended in divorce.
Seven years after their breakup, Lopez and Affleck rekindled their romance. In April 2022, Affleck proposed for a second time. Three months later, the pair secretly tied the knot in Las Vegas and had a second ceremony for friends and family at Affleck’s Georgia home.
Lopez released the song “Midnight Trip to Vegas” in July 2023 to commemorate the couple’s first wedding anniversary. She shared the lyrics of the new song in a newsletter ahead of the official release of her album This Is Me … Now later in 2023.
Keep scrolling to see which of Lopez’s songs were inspired by Affleck:
‘I’m Glad’
Album: This Is Me … Then
Standout Lyric: “I’m glad when I’m making love to you / I’m glad for the way you make me feel / I love it ’cause you seem to blow my mind / Every time I’m glad (I’m glad) when you walk (I’m glad), you hold my hand (I’m glad) / I’m happy that you know how to be a man / I’m glad (I’m glad) that you came into my life (I’m glad) / I’m so glad.”
‘Baby I Love U’
Album: This Is Me … Then
Standout Lyric: “What I wanna know is / Are you willing to try / There’s gotta be more meaning to this / Than what meets the eye / Baby I love you (baby, I need you) / Baby I need you (gotta have you, baby).”
‘Dear Ben’
Album: This Is Me … Then
Standout Lyric: “I think God made you for me / A mix of passionate fidelities / Baby, you’re so complete / I write this song to let you know / That you will always be to me / My lust, my love, my man, my child, my friend, and my king.”
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‘Midnight Trip to Vegas’
Album: This Is Me … Then
Standout Lyric: “Event of the ages / Caught in the matrix / Then you whispered in my ear / Said let’s get out of here / We can disappear tonight,” she sings in the opening verse before launching into the chorus. “What about a midnight trip to Vegas / Just me and you baby / Throw the kids in the back of the pink Cadillac.”
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