Topics: Ben Affleck, Celebrity, Jennifer Lopez, Parenting, Sex and Relationships, Music, Film and TV
Jennifer Lopez has revealed how she discussed her break up from Ben Affleck with her twins, Emme and Max.
The subject of a divorce is never an easy conversation, there's no doubt about that, but it's certainly important to break the news - particularly to children - in a sensitive manner.
The news broke last year in August that Lopez and Affleck were getting a divorce after getting married two years prior.
Lopez listed their date of separation as April 26, 2024, however, both she and Affleck have kept the details of their relationship under wraps over the past few months.
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Lopez filed for divorce with the Los Angeles County Superior Court, citing 'irreconcilable differences'.
The pair have both done interviews in recent months, however, and the divorce was of course on the agenda.
In a recent interview, Lopez detailed how she broke the news of the separation to Emme and Max, who she had in a previous relationship with Marc Anthony.
She told El País: "I had a really tough year. Unexpected things happened. And so, I read a lot of books. I did a lot of self-introspection.
"I did meditation. I prayed a lot. I wanted to improve my relationship with God. I wanted to kind of really solidify the family unit that is me and my two children, my twins."
Lopez continued: "I said, ‘I promise you, this is a difficult time, but you’re going to see that I’ll come out the other side stronger and better'. I promised them that and I did it.
"And they feel it now. That gives me a great sense of peace in my life."
Ever since the divorce, Lopez said she has focused on improving her own wellbeing as well as her family's.
She continued to El País: "I read a lot of books on childhood, marriage, relationships, different styles of love, the brain, science … And over the years, I’ve done individual therapy, couples therapy, family therapy. I’ve had everything, I’m always kind of searching.
"I think it’s all about learning about yourself. It’s all about knowing yourself. You have to be ready for that. And you have to want it. And, even when you want it, it’s hard to change certain things. But you can."
And while a divorce can be a complicated time for many, Lopez is looking on the bright side.
"Everybody goes through hard times in their life. And it’s what you do in those moments that really does define you," the singer added.
"Not the relationship, not the man: what defines you is what you’re doing with the experiences that you’re faced with. I take those experiences — whether they’re good or bad — and I bind them."
Affleck previously said he was ‘embarrassed’ about opening up about the issues he and Lopez were having, simply saying that it ‘feels vulnerable’.
The former celebrity couple met in 2002 on the set of the movie Gigli, a movie that released the following year.
That was in the March, and come the November, Lopez and Affleck were engaged.
Lopez described her then-fiancé as 'brilliantly smart … loving. Charming. Affectionate'.
The pair were truly in love.
After initially postponing the wedding, Lopez and Affleck officially separated in early 2004.
Lopez's representatives said at the time: "Jennifer Lopez has ended her engagement to Ben Affleck. At this difficult time, we ask that you respect her privacy.
"I am not going to confirm anything about his personal life. We don't want to get dragged into quicksand. Everybody wants a war. It's not happening from our side."
After staying in contact, the pair rekindled their relationship in April 2021, before going Instagram official in the July of that year.
Just three months after getting engaged again, Lopez and Affleck tied the knot at a private ceremony in Las Vegas.
"It's a beautiful outcome that this has happened in this way at this time in our lives where we can really appreciate and celebrate each other and respect each other," Lopez said.
Some two years after the celebrity pair married, Lopez filed for a divorce in August last year - something which was finalised in August last year.
"She tried really hard to make things work, and is heartbroken," a source close to Lopez told People.
The divorce was finalized in January 2025.
