Jennifer Lopez canceled her “This Is Me… Now” tour less than a month before it was set to begin.
The singer wrote in her newsletter that it was “absolutely necessary” that she canceled the shows. Concert promoter Live Nation said Lopez needs time off to be with her “children, family and close friends.”
The tour was in support of her 2024 This is me now album – her first in ten years – and the self-financed film that accompanies it. Some of her new songs were about her renewed relationship with her husband Ben Affleck, twenty years after they called off their first engagement.
Since the album’s release, there have been reports that the tour was struggling to sell tickets and that Lopez and Affleck were living apart amid marital problems. It’s unclear whether the cancellation of Lopez’s tour has anything to do with her marriage, but there’s no denying that the project itself is inextricably linked to their romance. Affleck said he doesn’t always like being portrayed as her muse.
We look back at their relationship, Lopez’s latest release and how her tour ultimately fell apart.
2002-2004: Bennifer 1.0
The Gigli costars started dating in 2002 and got engaged the same year. They postponed their engagement three days before the wedding in September 2003 and officially separated in early 2004.
They have both spoken about how their relationship was deeply affected by their presence on the covers of tabloids. Even twenty years later, that still seems to be the case.
2021: Bennifer 2.0 begins
Lopez confirmed that she rekindled her relationship with Affleck in July 2021, and they got married in Las Vegas in July 2022.
“The catalyst for [our first breakup] was this enormous control over our private lives,” Affleck explained in the documentary The greatest love story that has never been told. “I initially had a very strong sense of boundaries around the press. While I don’t think Jen objected to it as much as I did, I did object to it a lot. When I got back together, I said, “Listen, one of the things I don’t want is a social media relationship.” Then I realized it’s not fair to ask that.”
February 15, 2024: Lopez announces ‘This is Me… Now: The Tour’
While promoting her This is me now album and film, Lopez announced Today that she would go on tour the following summer.
“We are hitting all cities in the United States,” Lopez said. Orlando would be her first stop.
February 16, 2024: Lopez releases This is me now
Two decades after her album titled This is me… Dan, Lopez decided to “tell the truth” about her past relationships. A movie with the title This is me… Now: a love story helmed the album and she spent $20 million of her own money to bring it to life.
“It’s meta,” she told Yahoo Entertainment before the project was released. “It’s not autobiographical, but it’s certainly inspired by events in my life and other people’s journeys that I’ve seen. But it is definitely the story of a hopeless romantic’s journey through life and their search for love. That kind of sums it up in a way, and there are definitely things from my life that are infused and inspired into the story.
Some songs are about Affleck, like “Dear Ben, Part II,” but she also looks back on failed relationships and past abuse.
The film is “certified fresh” on Rotten Tomatoes with a score of 75%, but received scathing reviews from Vanity Fair and IndieWire.
February 27, 2024: The greatest love story that has never been told documentary appears
Less than two weeks after her self-produced album and film, a documentary about their production was released: The greatest love story that has never been told. The documentary takes its name from a book Affleck made for Lopez that includes “every letter and every email” they wrote to each other between 2001 and 2021 “and counting.”
“I really found the beauty, the poetry and the irony in the fact that it was the greatest love story never told,” Affleck said to the cameras. “And if you make a record about it, it’s a bit like telling it.”
Although Affleck has said he doesn’t want to stop Lopez from making the art she wants, Lopez says that “this doesn’t mean he’s comfortable being a muse.” He was surprised to learn that Lopez had songwriters read the personal letters between them as inspiration for her new album.
“Jen was really inspired by this experience, and that’s how artists do their work,” says Affleck. “As a writer-director, I definitely do the same things. But things that are private, I have always felt, are sacred and special because they are partly private. So this was a bit of an adjustment for me.”
Lopez’s Monster-in-law co-star Jane Fonda wondered if the singer was “trying to prove something” by making the vanity project about her relationship with Affleck instead of just living their lives.
March to April 2024: Lopez cancels tour dates and changes tour name to ‘This Is Me… Live: The Greatest Hits’
The singer canceled tour stops in Nashville, Atlanta, New Orleans and several other cities between August 22 and 30.
Some reports suggested the tour stops were removed due to low ticket sales, but Lopez’s team stated it was a “logistical error,” according to People.
Around the same time, the tour was renamed from “This is Me… Now: The Tour” to “This Is Me… Live: The Greatest Hits.” No changes were made to the set list and the tour was always intended to be a celebration of her career rather than her latest album, Entertainment Weekly reported.
May 2024: Lopez and Affleck face breakup rumors
Rumors of marital problems began circulating in early May, when Affleck attended Tom Brady’s May 5 Netflix roast alone. The next day, Lopez arrived at the Met Gala alone.
On May 15, the tabloid In Touch reported that the couple was “heading for divorce” and living apart. The next day, People magazine confirmed that 47 days had passed since they were photographed together. Hours later, they attended a school event together for one of Affleck’s children, both wearing wedding rings. Us Weekly reported that they are “having problems” in their marriage but have not yet broken up.
People reported on May 22 that their marriage is “not in the best place” and that they are still living apart. People mentioned different personalities and what they share about their lives together as an important issue. The same day, Lopez shut down a question about her relationship during a press conference for her new film, Atlas.
A source close to Lopez told People on May 28 that they are still living separately. “She’s back in LA for tour rehearsals. She seems fine. She is very focused on her work,” they said.
May 31, 2024: Lopez’s tour is officially canceled
Lopez shared news from concert promoter Live Nation on May 31 that her summer tour, which was set to kick off in Orlando on June 26, “has been canceled.” In her newsletter, she said she was “completely sad and devastated.”
“Jennifer is taking time off to be with her children, family and close friends,” the announcement said. There was no mention of Affleck or their relationship.
