J.Lo & Ben THE SPLIT TURNS NASTY!

New drama explodes after a summer of leading separate lives for Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck

What was meant to be a happy occasion was marred by a mortifying coincidence. On July 24, Jennifer Lopez turned 55 and celebrated alongside friends in New York. Husband Ben Affleck didn't attend - just like he skipped marking their two-year wedding anniversary a week earlier. Instead, the actor-director purchased a new $20.5 million home in LA, with reports confirming he closed escrow on the five-bedroom property on his wife's birthday.

It's just another bad sign for their crumbling relationship. First came whispers of problems this spring. Then Ben, 52, and J. Lo listed their Beverly Hills marital home for $68 million after he moved into a rental. A decision to take even more time apart soon followed. Now, after largely living separate lives on opposite coasts all summer, an insider confirms Ben and J. Lo's split has taken a nasty new turn. "A few weeks ago, something shifted," says the insider. "Ben got colder and he's since ghosted her. They only talk through lawyers at this point, and J. Lo's finding it humiliating."

She'd already been embarrassed enough when the world initially learned her fourth marriage to the man she's called "the love of my life" and "the best friend I ever had" was failing 20 years after they broke up the first time. "Jennifer thinks Ben's being an insensitive brat and wants him to man up, quit the brutal mind games and treat her with more respect," says the insider. "She's not going to take being treated so poorly anymore. J. Lo's ready to fight - this means war."

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