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'Bennifer is real!': Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck become Instagram official

Jennifer Lopez let her close friend Leah Remini do the honors of announcing to the world that Ben Affleck and she were back together via Instagram

Rekindling their romance 17 years after their broken engagement, Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck did not go 'Instagram official' quite like other celebrities. Instead of dropping hints on their own social media accounts about the romance, Lopez's close friend Leah Remini did the honours instead and announced that Lopez and Affleck are now a couple... again. 

For months, the newly reunited lovebirds have been enjoying time with each other, keeping their secretive romance away from the public as paparazzi did their best to photograph them together. But not anymore. Attending Remini's birthday party, Lopez and Affleck clearly didn't shy away from PDA as a black and white photograph from the celebrations sees the new age Batman in the middle, being hugged by his ex-fiance turned new girlfriend. Naturally, social media is going berserk over the recent developments.

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Remini's photos come just one day after sources told media that they are the "loves of each other's lives" and feel lucky to have received a "second chance" at their romance. Remini, who has been close friends with Lopez for years, shared photos of the couple fondly called 'Bennifer' among a series of others that she clubbed into a slideshow to express gratitude towards everyone who made her birthday better. The party was held on June 15 and by that time several photos of Bennifer out together had already made it to gossip platforms. 

But it is this sweet snap that sees the once-engaged couple in a tight cuddle that has sent their fans crazy. Daily Mail describes that Lopez looks at the camera with a "fierce glare", as if saying "hands off, he's mine." She has her right hand placed on Affleck's chest while the actor has his right arm wrapped tightly around Lopez, and another wrapped around the birthday girl, Remini. 

E!'s sources told the outlet that the couple, although "fully committed to each other," are in no rush to get married. "They have been meshing their lives and families and don't feel the need to get engaged yet or even tie the knot. They have both been there and don't feel it's necessary," explained the insider, adding that, "They want to do everything they can to make this work. They are madly in love." The source also alluded that Affleck, who has been to rehab for alcoholism, thinks Lopez, who doesn't drink and is a major health freak, is a good influence for him. "She's wonderful for him," the source said. But social media didn't need much convincing, they were already sure Bennifer is endgame.

Remini's fans, who seemed more thrilled in comments about her reunion with Lopez, were also quick to notice the rare but official Bennifer sighting from her video. Several heart emojis flooded the comment section of Remini's video as more and more people noticed. Twitter however took it a notch higher, as one fan of the couple cropped out Remini from the photo and shared it with the caption: "Jennifer ‘curled under Ben's arm that's my favorite place’ Lopez". Another user wrote: "[...] jennifer and ben are fucking cute together and i cannot wait until she officially says it’s official, i’m rooting for them."

It was support all the way for Twitter, as another user wrote: "Really happy for JLo & Ben Affleck.. Sometimes love finds you even after many years of being separated.. Love is beautiful." Others saw this as cue for wedding bells considering the two of them were already engaged once before. Taking the opportunity for a quip, the user wrote: "if JLo and Ben Affleck get married is he gonna refer to his wives as Jen 1 and Jen 2." In general, Twitter mostly celebrated that Bennifer weren't all elusive and mysterious anymore. "Bennifer is real!" they cheered.