Bad news for Jennifer Lopez! New dating trend called the ‘Ben Stage’ emerges on TikTok

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news for Jennifer Lopez, but a new dating trend has emerged on TikTok and it’s called the ‘Ben Stage.’

Through no fault of his own, her husband’s first name has become synonymous with a time in people’s lives where they were in a bad relationship or experiencing a terrible run of romantic entanglements.

TikTok creator Gubster appears to have coined the term after sharing a six-second video of her making awkward faces with the caption: ‘Seeing any girl go through their Ben stage.’

She doesn’t speak at all in the clip with the Florence And The Machine’s Dog Days Are Over lyric, ‘You better run,’ playing over the top doing all the talking.

A six-second video by TikTok creator Gubster has birthed a new dating trend dubbed the ‘Ben Stage’

It’s been viewed more than 13 million times since it was uploaded on February 9.

At the time of writing, the hashtag, #BenStage, has amassed more than 520,000 views. 

Despite it being attached to the name Ben, it’s become an overarching term used to describe a rough time in your dating life.

Another TikTok creator Destiny Aquino explains further: ‘For us millennials… we all went through a stage with the Js – Jason, Jay, James, Jacob… just the initial J, you stay the f*** away from them because they were perpetually driving you insane.

‘Yes they taught you a lot, but driving you off the f***ing wall. So apparently that’s what the “Ben Stage” is today.’ 

But Gubster’s video has triggered many TikTok users who have shared their negative dating experiences with men named Ben.

‘My first relationship was the Ben stage… not a good way to start,’ one person wrote.

Another added: ‘Ugh my Ben stage was my rebound stage and RIP to me and that time of my life.’

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news for Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck. The couple is pictured at this year’s Grammys

Another TikTok creator Destiny Aquino explained further saying it was Gen Z’s version of not dating people with the first initial J because ‘they were perpetually driving you insane’

‘My Ben stage destroyed me, and it took me YEARS to heal,’ a third person said.

‘How many of us had Ben stages with guys named Ben?! I’m crying laughing because I feel seen,’ someone else wrote.

But others came to the defense of Bens.

‘Nope. Definitely the Js. My husband is Ben and is he an Angel,’ one person said.

‘I’m marrying my Ben of 12 years and he’s one of the best humans I know,’ another added.

But even though the term is relatively new, it seems to be already having an impact of real-life Bens.

But Gubster’s video has triggered many TikTok users who have shared their negative dating experiences with men named Ben

Benjamin Jorgensen, 27, told The Independent said he was ‘angry and confused’ after discovering it on TikTok, but ‘kind of ignored it.’

However the ‘Ben Stage’ continued to gain traction.

‘Now everyone I meet will potentially have a pre-conception of who I am based off my name alone,’ he said.

Part-time gardener Ben Thornberry, 18, added: ‘I want people to know that Bens are not all bad people. And what these people refer to as red flags in Bens, like being toxic, are not necessarily [commonplace] just because it’s happened to one person.’