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Romance has been at the heart of Jennifer Lopez's career for a long time, quietly informing her music and movie career in equal measure. She has developed a reputation over the years for giving her all to playing films centered on love and for bringing emotion to songs of connection and vulnerability.
Her latest relationship was with actor Ben Affleck, with whom she had become engaged and been dating in the early 2000s before marrying again in 2022. She has four marriages. She had married previous singer Marc Anthony from 2004 to 2014, the father of her twins Max and Emme, and Ojani Noa from 1997 to 1998, and Cris Judd from 2001 to 2003.
She had also been engaged to former baseball player Alex Rodriguez in 2019, but the couple ended up splitting in 2021 before they would marry. She also had an affair with Drake in 2016 for some months before her relationship with Alex Rodriguez. However, some of these relationships were short-lived.
Once in an interview with USA Today, Jennifer said:
"It captures this moment to really say the things I want to say about love, and that is that true love does exist and some things are forever. Please don’t give up on that because that’s all that matters in life…love."
Lopez's ability to weave her own life into her music has been one of her biggest assets. Rather than shying away from the light, she makes it a story that everyone who's ever searched for love, broken-hearted, or bold enough to imagine second chances can identify with.
Now, let's take a moment to look back at Jennifer Lopez’s journey through love. From whirlwind romances to rekindled flames, her relationship history has been as dynamic and captivating as her career.
Ojani Noa (1997- 1998)
Jennifer Lopez's initial walk down the aisle in 1997 was to marry Cuban-born future model and actor Ojani Noa. The two were introduced at the nascent beginning of both of their careers, Noa's as a server, and the beginning of Lopez's stardom unfolding before her.
The union lasted for a short time before it ended in divorce in 1998. In an interview with People Magazine (according to a June Publication of People Magazine), Lopez commented on the marriage, saying:
"It seems like in this life, you’re always surrounded by people so you’re never lonely, but it’s very lonely. So you always want somebody with you. So I felt like if I got married, then I would always have somebody, but that’s not how life works. That’s not how it goes, a bad reason to get married. Not the right one, the wrong one."
Noa, however, has gone on to discuss their time with her with still-lingering sentiment, remembering their initial bond in a sense of nostalgia and despair.
Sean Combs (1999 - 2001)
Jennifer Lopez's short early 2000s romance with Sean 'Diddy' Combs was as she was transitioning at the turning point of her career, from up-and-coming actress to global pop sensation. They started dating in 1999 when she dropped her first album, On the 6, on which Combs was an off-camera contributor.
However, in a 2003 interview with Vibe magazine, Jennifer Lopez claimed that Diddy was unfaithful during their relationship. However, the former rapper, for his part, said that Lopez in 2017, proclaiming she was "without a doubt" one of his great loves.
They topped the headlines, not just for music industry power, but behind the public glitz, their relationship was reportedly strained.
Cris Judd (2001 - 2003)
Jennifer Lopez's short marriage to backup dancer Cris Judd is a chapter in her life that hums with fiery passion and hard-earned lessons. The two first met in 2000 while working on her "Love Don't Cost a Thing" music video, and soon their working relationship blossomed into an overnight romance.
They got married in September of 2001, but saw the marriage disintegrate by summer 2002, according to a September 2014 Publication of Us Weekly, and finalized their divorce in 2003.
Fleeting as it was, Lopez has been candid about the experience, admitting that she still loves Judd, but the relationship just wasn't working out. Marriage was a worthwhile lesson for Lopez that love alone isn't going to do it in this relationship, and the harsh marriage reality requires a little more. Regarding this, Jennifer Lopez told Vibe in an interview:
"Coming out of a torrid relationship, I meet this sweet person who’s so refreshing. But marriage is not just about love. I thought I had learned that in my first marriage...I loved Cris, still love him, he’s one of the best people. This wasn't an easy thing to walk away from, but we didn’t have what it takes to make a marriage work."
Judd has also spoken about the time they were together, saying that it does take work on both sides of a relationship, with both of them bringing their own baggage into it. While their marriage failed, both have lived differently since Judd remarried and had children, and Lopez continues her life of love and self-discovery. Cris Judd, in an interview with Us Weekly in 2014, said:
"I can't give you the answer as to why her relationships don't work. I think that it's that it is work. It's whether you want to work on it or not. Everyone has baggage and problems. It's whether you want to deal with those problems."
Jennifer Lopez with Ben Affleck (2002 - 2004 & 2021 - 2025)
Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck started dating back in 2002 on the set of Gigli and got engaged in the same year. They, however, shelved plans to get wed due to extreme media attention and split up in 2004. The paparazzi even nicknamed them as Bennifer. Lopez actually married Marc Anthony, with whom she had twins, while Affleck married Jennifer Garner and had three kids.
However, in 2002, after the engagement, the couple called off their wedding four days before the D-Day. Jennifer told Vanity Fair in December 2017:
"I was eviscerated. I lost my sense of self, questioned if I belonged in this business, thought maybe I did suck at everything. My relationship [with Affleck] self-destructed in front of the entire world."
Nearly two decades afterwards, the duo reconciled in 2021 and were back together by 2022. They tied the knot in an intimate Las Vegas wedding in July 2022, followed by a bash at Affleck's mansion. They were again together, but Lopez sought divorce in 2024, which she finalized by early 2025.
Marc Anthony (2004 - 2014)
In 2004, Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony got married. They were dating for many years, starting from working with each other over the years, including on her bestselling song "No Me Ames." The couple met in 1998. The pair had twins, Max and Emme, in 2008, but by 2011, they had announced their separation after living together for 10 years. Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony's divorce was finalized in 2014.
In an interview with W in April 2016, Jennifer Lopez said regarding their divorce:
"When my marriage ended, it was not easy to find forgiveness. It wasn’t the dream that I had hoped for, and it would have been easier to fan the flames of resentment, disappointment and anger. But Marc is the father of my children, and that’s never going away. So I have to work to make things right. And that is, by far, the hardest work I do."
Despite the emotional struggle of their breakup, Lopez prioritized forgiveness for the sake of their children, acknowledging it was hard but a must. Lopez and Anthony are now close friends and co-parenting partners, frequently reminiscing about their best times working together on stage, where their chemistry is still undeniable.
Casper Smart (2011 - 2016)
Following her split from Marc Anthony, Lopez was already on the move, becoming involved with her backup dancer, Casper Smart, in November of 2011. They were more serious, resulting in Smart being hired as Lopez's creative director for her All I Have Las Vegas residency.
Their romance, however, was derailed in 2014 when they were reported to have had news that Smart had sent inappropriate messages and photos to a trans model. However, after that, they had some "on-off" kind of phase. The two had previously split that year but were still involved in a complex on-and-off relationship until they finally broke up in 2016.
Even during their final breakup, Smart says there was no ill will. Smart later said to Us Weekly in March 2017 that he had respect for Lopez and admitted she was amazing even after they had broken up. In his words:
"Jennifer is, like, phenomenal, phenomenal, phenomenal."
Drake (2017)
According to a January 2017 publication of Us Weekly, Drake and Lopez's short-lived romance in 2017 was in the news, and the tabloids and the public were watching. They started dating in December 2016 when the rapper attended Lopez's All I Have performance and created affair rumors.
As their romance heated up, Drake overdid it, renting out a church in Los Angeles and having them prom king and queen in a winter wonderland-themed prom. The romance cooled.
In February of 2017, according to Us, their romance withered away, and their romance cooled when Drake left for his tour of Europe. Drake then employed their short-term romance in his Diplomatic Immunity song, explaining their breakup.
Alex Rodriguez (2017 - 2021)
There had been gossip in March 2017 that Lopez and baseball player Alex Rodriguez were romantically involved, and before long, the two were inseparable. Rodriguez soon hit it off with Lopez's family, and she liked having him around as a good father figure. The two were never married. They planned their wedding, but that was delayed due to the pandemic.
However, they broke up in April 2021, saying that they were happy as friends. Despite breaking up, they still wanted to be supportive professionally. Insiders explained that lockdown closeness with the quarantines brought out more problems in their relationship, and the two could not sustain the chemistry. Regarding their breakup, the couple told Today magazine:
"We have realized we are better as friends and look forward to remaining so. We will continue to work together and support each other on our shared businesses and projects. We wish the best for each other and one another’s children. Out of respect for them, the only other comment we have to say is thank you to everyone who has sent kind words and support."
Jennifer Lopez's life has been the focal aspect of her public persona, influencing her music and career. From celebrity romances to her latest romance with Ben Affleck, Lopez has written about her life, taking from it. Along the way, she's demonstrated strength and dedication to self-improvement. Her relationships continue to shape her narrative, showing her quest for love and happiness and staying true to herself.
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