Why did Bennifer look so miserable at the Grammys?

If you look up “whirlwind romance” in the dictionary, it will automatically redirect you to the iconic “Jenny From The Block” music video where Ben Affleck kisses Jennifer Lopez’s booty on a yacht. #Facts. And seeing as how our favourite 2000s couple reconnected nearly 20 years later and got married after a very brief engagement (like 3 months brief), it might be safe to assume that perhaps that wasn’t enough time for Bennifer to truly get to re-know each other. 

Why do we say that? While they weren't the slightest bit shy about packing on the PDA during their engagement, Bennifer's appearance at the 2023 Grammys made many fans suspect cracks were starting to show in their romance. It was their Grammys debut (J.Lo just released her “This Is Me, Now” album), and if you expected their appearance to be loaded with cuddles and canoodling, the two didn't even walk the red carpet together. Where's all that PDA we've grown so used to?

In fact, once inside the venue, the miserable looks continued. Every camera shot of the couple showed two seemingly cranky, tired people sitting side by side. Ben looked like he was ready for a nap, while J.Lo looked frustrated. And this was not lost on Twitter.

CBC Radio host Elamin Abdelmahmoud said what we’re all thinking: “Whoever keeps cutting to Ben Affleck as he gets more and more exasperated, thank you.”

Writer Ilana Kaplan referred to Ben’s affection for all things Dunkin Donuts and tweeted, “someone get ben affleck a cigarette and a dunkin coffee stat.”

And Twitter just got more and more suspicious from there. Fans began to suspect that either their whirlwind romance was waning after the honeymoon period or that perhaps the iconic duo had a fight just prior to their red-carpet arrival.

Honestly, it’s not just Twitter DUNKIN (see what we did there?) on Bennifer’s pictures, they just look super awks in the video footage too. Even the legendary Stevie Wonder bringing down the house with his classic tune “Higher Ground” couldn’t make Ben smile.

For real, it seems no one wanted to be at the 2023 Grammy’s less than the two-time Oscar winner. Just look at this video where it genuinely looks like J.Lo is having none of his nonsense, snapping at him.

But then some suspected that maybe Ben just suffers from RBF: Resting Ben Face.

That notwithstanding, let’s not forget that Jen and Ben reconnected rather quickly after ending relationships with other people. Ben was dating actress Ana de Armas in early 2021 before ending it in January, while Jen was engaged to Alex Rodriguez for years before he was accused of cheating, and they called it quits by April 2021. It was later that same month that Bennifer reconnected. It's tempting to be a sucker for a good romantic story that glorifies unrequited love. Still, there's also something to be said for allowing oneself to breathe and regroup after the end of long-term, serious relationships. 

Then again, Bennifer looked happy and delighted when Trevor Noah came to chat with them during the commercial break, so perhaps we just got the wrong end of the stick.