Matt Damon proved a tried and true best friend as he was spotted arriving to his BFF Ben Affleck’s wedding to Jennifer Lopez on Friday, August 19. The Talented Mr. Ripley vet was all smiles as he touched down in Georgia with his gorgeous wife Luciana Barroso ahead of the superstar couple’s nuptials that is sure to be an incredible A-list event. Rocking a casual ensemble of khakis and an oxford, Matt helped Luciana with her luggage as they exited an SUV, as seen in photos here.
As fans would know, Matt is a huge supporter of his buddy Ben reuniting with JLo, as the couple were once engaged back in 2002. Back in July, Matt told Extra that he was “just so happy” for Ben. “He’s the best. He deserves every happiness in the world. I’m glad for both of them.” And in August of 2021, when he was asked on The Carlos Watson Show if he thought the pair would go the distance, Matt replied, “Oh man, no one’s pulling harder than I am.” He added, “They’re both great. I just want for their happiness. They seem pretty happy right now.”
Before the big upcoming Georgia wedding bash, Bennifer 2.0 made it official by registering for a marriage license in Clark County, NV on Saturday, July 16. According to the license filing obtained by Hollywoodlife (below), Jennifer is taking Ben’s last name, as she is listed as “Jennifer Affleck.” At the time, the “Waiting For Tonight” hitmaker dished on all the details on her On the JLo newsletter, adding, “We did it. Love is beautiful. Love is kind. And it turns out love is patient. Twenty years patient.”
Jennifer and Ben have a love story for the ages. The iconic pair’s romance started while they were both working on the movie Gigli in 2002. Shortly afterwards, they went public with their relationship. “We met at a couple of parties. We barely paid any attention to each other,” Jennifer said during a 2003 Dateline interview for the movie. “We became friends first.”
The couple’s love affair was soon the talk of the town, earning the superstars the first one-name moniker for a celebrity couple: “Bennifer.” In November of 2002, Ben popped the question with a pink ring, worth a reported $2.5 million. As the anticipation for their wedding grew, the couple surprisingly called it off. “Due to the excessive media attention surrounding our wedding, we have decided to postpone the date,” the pair told People in a joint statement. By January 2004, J.Lo and Ben were officially exes.
Nearly two decades after ending their engagement, the former couple were back together and being called “Bennifer 2.0.” The pair went Instagram official in July 2021, when Jennifer shared a snap of them packing on the PDA during her 52nd birthday celebrations. After a year of dating, they decided to give an engagement another try in April 2022, as Ben got down on one knee with a green diamond ring, worth an estimated $5 million!
Looks like second chances in love really do exist!