Jennifer Lopez has shared a rare insight into her romance with Ben Affleck, acknowledging the "beautiful" second chance they have been given.
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"I feel so lucky and happy and proud to be with him," the singer and actress revealed, adding: "It's a beautiful love story that we got a second chance." Jennifer and Ben – affectionately known as 'Bennifer' – first started dating in 2002 after meeting on the set of their film Gigli and became engaged soon after.
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They were set to get married in September 2003, but cancelled the wedding due to excessive media attention and eventually broke up in January 2004.
They sparked rumors of a reconciliation soon after Jen's engagement to Alex Rodriguez broke down and then went Instagram official with their relationship in July while on a European holiday in honor of her 52nd birthday.
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Jennifer has now shared that they "had a little bit of fear" deciding to give love a second try, telling People magazine that they are both "older now, we're smarter, we have more experience, we're at different places in our lives, we have kids now, and we have to be very conscious of those things".
"We're so protective because it is such a beautiful time for all of us," she added.
Ben and Jen were pictured at Leah Remini's birthday party
But, she shared that "it's beautiful the way it feels very different than it was years ago", admitting that "there's more of an appreciation and a celebration for it, which is nice."
"That is a really rare, precious, beautiful thing and we don't take it for granted," said Jennifer.
Jennifer is mom to 13-year-old twins Max and Emme from her marriage to Marc Anthony, and Ben has three children with ex-wife Jennifer Garner.
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