Jennifer Lopez celebrated her 55th birthday with a fabulous party in the Hamptons, New York, themed around the popular Netflix series, Bridgerton. The artist was seen sitting on a golden throne and posing for photos with guests, greeting her longtime friend and manager Benny Medina and singing before blowing out the candles on the cake.

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However, it was a bittersweet event. The artist started the celebrations last weekend, with a party and a meal at an Italian restaurant, which, like everything about her in recent months, was also complicated: she was surrounded by her children, Max and Emme, sister of Lynda, a few friends including her manager and actress Sarah Jessica Parker… but her husband, actor Ben Affleck, was not with her. It’s a good example of how Lopez is having a hard time, both personally and publicly.

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Lopez has been smiling in front of the cameras for months, putting on a good face in front of reporters, fans asking for autographs, everyone asking how she’s doing and what she’s working on. But she always avoids the same question: how is her marriage.

Some journalists tried to ask her the question while promoting her film “Atlas” in late May, but her co-star, actor Simu Liu, stopped them in their tracks. But it’s hard to hide it. The marital crisis is no longer just a tabloid rumour, nor something that can be seen on the face of the star, who has been looking sad lately. The signs are many and completely clear.

It was in mid-May when those who have been keeping tabs on the couple realized they had been making public appearances, apparently engrossed in their eternal embrace, since March. She appeared at the Met Gala, which he also sponsored, without him, in a move that surprised everyone. She posed on the steps of the museum in New York, all alone, thinner than ever (she herself confirmed this, saying that she works out a lot because of the filming she is immersed in) and with only a half smile. This was the first time their relationship status was called into question, and all these months later, it still is…

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At the end of May, Lopez also experienced one of the worst moments of her career: the cancellation of her tour. In mid-February, the artist released the “This Is Me… Now”a new album with 13 songs, which made its… uneventful way up the music charts.

In addition, the album was accompanied by a kind of long music video called “This Is Me… Now: A Love Story”, where all the songs on the album were compiled into something, like a music video. This was followed by a documentary, The Greatest Love Story Never Told, where Lopez also discussed her romance with Affleck. He invested over $20 million in all of them, with little success with audiences and even less with critics.

By the time the tour came around, she had sold very few tickets and stated that she would be taking some time off to be with her children, family and close friends. In addition to falling out of favor with the public, once again, the marital crisis was visible.

After that, the two began to appear more often, but never in each other’s company. He, mainly, was seen in Los Angeles, she in California, she also went on vacation in Italy with coke friends. Meanwhile, moving trucks removed Affleck’s personal belongings from the Beverly Hills mansion they bought together just a year ago and moved them to another one in Brentwood, closer to his children and ex-wife Jennifer Garner.

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This year, there was no celebration for their wedding anniversary. They weren’t together, not even on her birthday. All the international media are talking about a separation and all that is left – typically – is the announcement from them. If there will be…