Jennifer Lopez’s Romantic History: Her Relationships Before Marrying Ben Affleck

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Jennifer Lopez‘s life has been rich in fashion, music and romance! Over the course of her decades-long career, the entertainer has been linked to new loves at different stages of her life. While trying to keep her personal life as private as possible, fans learned more and more about the loves of her life, and now we’re taking a tour through her past romances!

The Hustlers star’s love life has truly been epic. At different points of her career, J. Lo has fallen deeply in love, become a mother, and, for a moment, and is back to being one half of the biggest couples in Hollywood with Ben Affleck! The couple was iconic for their whirlwind romance from 2002 to 2004, that led to them being engaged with a pink diamond. Now, the couple are back together and married. Look back at J.Lo’s romantic history, including her rekindled romance with Ben, below!

Ojani Noa

Ojani Noa was J. Lo’s first husband. The former couple married in February 1997 after they met at Gloria Estefan‘s restaurant, where Ojani was a waiter. This was at a time when Jennifer’s star was beginning to rise in Hollywood. The same year that she married Ojani, Jennifer starred in Selena, the feature film biopic of Latinx singer Selena Quintanilla-Pérez‘s life. J. Lo earned a Golden Globe nomination for her work in the film, but while her career was skyrocketing, her marriage was suffering. Ojani and J. Lo divorced by 1998.

Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs

Following her marriage to Ojani, J. Lo began her first high-profile relationship with music producer Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs. The pair dated in the late ’90s but ran into legal trouble when they were both arrested for criminal possession of a weapon following a shooting outside of a nightclub! While J. Lo was eventually exonerated, having had no influence or part in the crime, Diddy was charged and indicted by a Manhattan grand jury. J. Lo made the decision to walk away from her relationship with the music mogul.

Cris Judd

After her split from Diddy, J. Lo began her romance with former backup dancer Cris Judd. The two were immediately smitten with one another, and after a whirlwind love affair, they got hitched in September 2001. Unfortunately, this romance didn’t last long. The couple divorced by June 2002, less than a year since their nuptials. During their marriage, however, they did make a few public appearances, like in the image above when they attended the Academy Awards in March 2002.

Ben Affleck

This next romance would become one of J. Lo’s most high-profile connections! After her second divorce, the singer and actress began a relationship with Oscar-winner Ben Affleck. The two earned a couple name — coined “Beniffer” by the press. Within less than a year of dating, Jennifer and Ben got engaged in November 2002. The couple starred in a number of movies together, including Gigli and Jersey Girl. In September 2003, the couple announced that they would be postponing their nuptials just one day prior to the ceremony. By January 2004, the two officially called it quits.

Jennifer’s breakup with Ben was her most difficult to overcome, citing the split as her “first real heartbreak” in her 2014 book True Love. Since that time, however, the two have a seemingly amicable relationship. Ben even sung J. Lo’s praises after seeing her in 2019’s Hustlers, saying that his former flame was “awesome.”

Marc Anthony

In an attempt to overcome her broken heart after she and Ben split, J. Lo married longtime friend and fellow singer, Marc Anthony. Less than two years after their wedding, J. Lo became a mother to the couple’s twins Emme Maribel Muñiz and Maximilian David Muñiz, now 14 years old. Marc and J. Lo seemingly had an incredible relationship.

The couple would often perform on stage together and were quite dedicated to parenting their youngsters. Unfortunately, by July 2011, the couple announced their split, and in June 2014, their divorce was finalized. While J. Lo retains primary physical custody of the two kiddos, she and Marc have been seen supporting their little ones at school functions and more!

Casper Smart

Once J. Lo was back on the market, she started an on-again, off-again relationship with backup dancer Casper Smart. Between 2011-2016, Casper and J. Lo went through the ebbs and flows of maintaining their romance or splitting apart. By the time the two officially called it quits in 2016, it seemed like the “On The Floor” singer was getting cozy with rapper Drake! In 2016, the pair shared the exact same flirty photo on their respective Instagram accounts, sans caption. They never confirmed their romance, but J. Lo has said one or two shady things about the rapper in recent years.

Alex Rodriguez

After so much heartache, J. Lo appeared to finally be happy with a new man! In February 2017, J. Lo started dating former Yankees player Alex Rodriguez, and the two quickly became one of the hottest couples in Hollywood. The couple was completely smitten with one another. For his part, Alex had been incredibly supportive of his beloved by attending premieres, cheering on J. Lo at her concerts, and looking so proud of her on many an occasion!

Their lovefest culminated in March 2019 when Alex popped the question, asking the singer to marry him — and J. Lo said yes! The couple had plans to get married in 2020, but the COVID-19 pandemic put their nuptials on hold. Despite that, J-Rod seemed happy, and they kept themselves busy during the lockdown months by enjoying their time with their kids, including Alex’s daughters Natasha Alexander Rodriguez and Ella Alexander Rodriguez.

Unfortunately, there was a sad ending for this storybook romance. In March 2021, the J.Lo and A-Rod reportedly called it quits, but then quickly made a statement insisting they were working on their relationship. A few weeks later, however, on April 15th, the pair officially ended their engagement. “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 is to say is thank you to everyone who has sent kind words and support,” the statement read to the Today Show.

Ben Affleck 2.0

Following Jennifer and Alex’s Apr. 15 2021 announcement that they were splitting up for good and better off as “friends,” Jennifer was photographed hanging out with Ben in Los Angeles on Apr. 30. He was photographed getting out of her white SUV, but reports claimed that the two were just enjoying reconnecting and spending time together as friends. But the pair seemed to take things to the next level by going on a weeklong vacation together to Montana a few days later.

After J.Lo performed and Ben participated in the taping of the May 2 Vax Live event in L.A., they reportedly hopped a plane and headed to the exclusive Yellowstone Club in Montana, where the pair spent the week. Ben and Jen seemed very much like a “couple” a source told TMZ, which first reported the getaway. They rode in the same SUV with Ben driving and Jennifer riding shotgun in photos published by the Daily Mail, showing the pair cruising around Montana.

The couple were no-holds-barred as they celebrated her 52nd birthday with a lavish yacht vacation in Europe, packing on the PDA for fans and the paparazzi — very much confirming the romance for everyone to see. In the months to come, Bennifer began to blend their families — including her twins Max and Emme and his three kids Violet, Seraphina and Samuel.

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In news that was hardly a surprise, Jennifer confirmed that she and Ben were engaged — this time with a very rare green diamond ring. She showed off the sparkler, estimated to be worth $5 million, in a video via her OnTheJLo fan newsletter. “I have a really exciting and special story to share, if you’re not part of my inner circle — you have to go to OnTheJLo.com to hear this one,” she teased, leading fans to the short video of the spectacular ring.

According to the license obtained by Hollywood Life, the iconic couple made it official in Clark County, Nevada, in July 2022. The duo wedded in Las Vegas after receiving the marriage license — but left the friends and family celebration until August 20, where they put on a fabulous fete at Ben’s estate in Georgia. Jennifer glowed in a stunning white wedding dress with a feather skirt and dramatic veil, while Ben kept it dapper in a white tuxedo suit. Their special guests included Matt Damon, Kevin Smith and a slew of family members like Ben’s mom and Jennifer’s sisters. Ben’s kids Violet, Seraphina and Sam were also in attendance, as well as Jennifer’s twins, Emme and Max.

As the supportive husband that he is, Ben was there to watch her self-finance, choreograph, write and perform her 2024 This Is Me…Now meta film, which was titled after her album of the same name.