Jennifer Lopez officially files for divorce from Ben Affleck. Why do fans demand details about celebrities' personal lives?

Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck are, once again, calling it quits. While the couple went through a rocky few months in their relationship this year — a rekindled connection that began in 2021 after nearly two decades apart — Lopez filed for divorce on Aug. 20 in Los Angeles Superior Court. The move came on the two-year anniversary of their Georgia wedding, which was a follow-up to their Las Vegas elopement on July 17 of the same year, though court documents show the separation date listed as April 26, 2024.

"It's sad, but it's for the best," a source who knows both Affleck, 52, and Lopez, 55, told Yahoo Entertainment. "They are just different people when it comes down to it, but there's been a lot of love there over the years."

The celebrity duo first met while working on the set of the 2003 romantic-crime movie "Gigli." While they had planned to originally marry that year, they called off their relationship in early 2004. Fast forward to 2022 after Lopez went public with their Vegas wedding, the singer-actress said, "Love is beautiful. Love is kind. And it turns out love is patient. Twenty years patient."

Since earlier this spring, rumours about Bennifer splitting up plagued the couple — and that was only fuelled by speculation they were living separate lives. From spending the summer in different cities to Affleck being notably absent from J.Lo's major events, it was easy material for online commentators to share jokes, pose questions and flame critiques.

This isn't the first time a former high-profile couple have made headlines or been the focus of the internet's attention after announcing their break up. Even since rumours about J.Lo and Affleck started cropping up this spring, it'd be difficult to spend any time online without hearing about other celebrity breakups between stars like Cardi B and Offset; Jason Momoa and Lisa Bonet; as well as Britney Spears and Sam Asghari.

So, what makes splits between stars — and even just the seemingly omnipresent culture of celebrity — permeate people's day-to-day lives so much? Yahoo Canada recently spoke to an expert about celebrity culture, and why people frequently obsess over the personal lives of their favourite stars.

Why are we so obsessed with celebrities' personal lives?

According to Toronto Mentropolitan University associate professor in performance Cheryl Thompson, celebrity culture has — in many ways — replaced religion in the western world. In some cases, celebrities have been made the new "religious" figures. The Toronto-based expert explained that's why so many people are invested and eager to know more about them.

In the past, Thompson said people looked to their minister, priest or nun and followed their example. But now, people look up to celebrities on how to best live and navigate their own lives.

"We've become, at least in the western world, a more secular culture in terms of what's in our public consumption … and it doesn't mean that the worshiping of people has gone away," Thompson shared in a previous interview. "It's just that now we worship celebrities."

People's reactions and the need to know more about the private lives of celebrities is a part of this culture, she added. Still, celebrities are in control of the narrative.

"Celebrities will literally show you their house … even show you their closet … and then when something goes wrong in their lives, they close the door," she said. "And you kind of feel like, ... 'You want to show me all the glimmering parts of your life, but you don't want to show me the ugly parts?' ... I think some of this is really led by celebrity culture — it's not really the public."

Transitioning to a new era of advertising

Thompson also shared she believes people need to realize the "old era" of advertising is over. It used to be that ads and magazine covers would feature models or random people. But now, most companies use celebrities for their advertisements to drive sales and engagement.

Many celebrities have social media to make them seem more relatable, Thompson claimed. She added she believes that's so people will buy into their brands, and those they promote. "We cannot be so naive as to think that celebrities are on social media just for fun. ... They might actually enjoy it, but it really has become a way to extend the brand beyond what it is that they actually do."

She also pointed out some celebrities aren't even handling their own social media accounts: "So all those intimate posts that you think they're actually doing, someone is literally on the vacation doing it for them.

Without understanding how it all works, people end up thinking there's something "really special" or "magical" about a person who becomes famous. "It's like they have something that you don’t have. ... But people need to realize that the magic of celebrities is not true. ... They are literally human," she said. "The only difference is that they have a machinery behind them."

Even when something devastating — like a break-up — happens to stars, they still have whole teams to support them off-camera. Celebrities can afford hair stylists, make-up artists and public relation experts who help them look like they have a "much bigger energy than the average person," Thompson added.

"Some of this [investment in the lives of celebs] is about a lack in the individual," she claimed.

"Why would you worship a person that you really don't know that well? And I say that because, at the end of the day, it is an industry that is built on labour relations."

When it comes to celebrity culture and announcements, Thompson advised wondering how those people supporting celebrities are being paid and how they're being treated rather than what information they're making public. "Understand there is so much work that goes into creating a public persona. ... Imagine if you put the same energy that you put into worshiping (celebrities) into yourself."

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