Inside the WORST year of Jennifer Lopez’s life: As her Ben Affleck ‘love story’ ends in divorce, TOM LEONARD lays bare the flop commercial ventures, the public humiliations… and even the friends now deserting her

Singing and dancing in a billowing Regency ballgown, Jennifer Lopez seemed a picture of delight last month as she celebrated her 55th birthday with a Bridgerton-themed extravaganza in the Hamptons.

The abundant photos and footage she later posted online were full of her customary look-at-me exuberance in full flush.

Yet, hidden beneath the glitz and glamour, lay an unmistakable air of desperation.

Bridgerton has a strong flavor of Jane Austen romance about it, of course. But the theme might have been more fitting had JLo taken her cue from Charles Dickens’s Miss Havisham, who spends the rest of her life in a decaying wedding dress after being jilted at the altar.

For there was one glaring absence at the lavish birthday bash – namely JLo’s husband, Ben Affleck.