Celebrity

Jennifer Lopez Breaks Silence On Her Divorce From Ben Affleck

She’s “excited” to be on her own.

by Sam Ramsden
NAUCALPAN DE JUAREZ, MEXICO - MAY 21: Jennifer Lopez poses during the 'Atlas' Mexico City Fan Event ...
Hector Vivas/Getty Images Entertainment/Getty Images

Less than two months after filing for divorce from Ben Affleck, Jennifer Lopez is opening up about their high-profile split for the first time.

In a conversation with comedian Nikki Glaser for Interview magazine, Lopez spoke about her personal life, and while she didn’t mention Affleck by name, she said she’s “excited” to be single. “You have to be good on your own,” she told Glaser. “I thought I learned that, but I didn’t. And then, this summer, I had to be like, ‘I need to go off and be on my own. I want to prove to myself that I can do that.’”

As for her dating life, Lopez stressed that she’s “not looking for anybody,” adding, “Everything that I’ve done over the past 25, 30 years, being in these different challenging situations, what can I f****** do when it’s just me flying on my own. What if I’m just free?”

As TMZ reported, Lopez filed for divorce from Affleck on Aug. 20, the same day as their second wedding anniversary. In the filing, Lopez reportedly listed their official separation date as April 26, and there was no mention of a prenuptial agreement.

Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck. Kevin Winter/Getty Images Entertainment/Getty Images

In the new Interview cover story, Lopez added that, while she’s looking forward to her single life, she realized she’ll have to learn how to “be good on your own.”

“The work is figuring yourself out,” she explained. “It’s looking back at the feelings underneath and the belief systems that we have about ourselves that make us make certain choices and create certain patterns in our life.”

Bennifer’s Love Story

Lopez and Affleck first met on the set of Gigli in 2001 and began dating shortly after. They made their public debut in J.Lo’s “Jenny From the Block” music video, in which Affleck pretends to propose with a pink diamond ring. In November 2002, they announced an engagement, but the wedding was called off just days before their nuptials the following year. A few months later, in January 2004, they called it quits.

The couple reunited in May 2021, confirming their reconciliation on the red carpet a few months later.

The pair got engaged for a second time in April 2022 and had two separate wedding ceremonies: They eloped in Las Vegas in July 2022 and then married in a bigger ceremony at Affleck’s home in Savannah, Georgia, the following month.