Jennifer Lopez opened up about her divorce from Ben Affleck during a Today show appearance on Monday, Oct. 6.
The 55-year-old singer was promoting her new musical film Kiss of the Spider Woman when co-host Craig Melvin brought up her personal life.
“In the middle of filming this elaborate, beautiful musical, your divorce was also finalized with Ben,” Melvin began.
Lopez immediately cut him off with a laugh. “There you go! Look at this guy!”
But Melvin had a professional reason for mentioning Affleck. He clarified that her ex-husband serves as an executive producer on the film.
Lopez then gave Affleck his due credit for the project.
“If it wasn’t for Ben, the movie wouldn’t have gotten made. And I will always give him that credit.”
She kept her response brief about the divorce itself. “And yeah, things happen, you have to keep going.”
Art as Escape
The film became more than just a project for Lopez during a difficult period in her life.
“It’s funny, the movie is about escapism. It’s about how movies and art save us in the hardest times of our lives,” she explained.
Kiss of the Spider Woman helped her through her personal struggles. “Doing this project was such a dream come true for me that it really got me through to kind of survive a moment that was difficult in my personal life as well.”
When Melvin suggested the film might have saved her, Lopez agreed enthusiastically.
“It did, it did!”
Looking Forward
Lopez took time off after filming wrapped. Now she’s back promoting the project and excited for audiences to see it.
“I’m really excited for everybody to see this film. It’s a beautiful film about love,” she said.
The couple’s relationship timeline spans over two decades. Affleck and Lopez first met in 2002 and got engaged before splitting in 2004.
They both moved on to other relationships and started families during their time apart.
The pair rekindled their romance in 2021. They married in Las Vegas in July 2022, then held a second ceremony in Georgia with friends and family a month later.
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Lopez previously discussed filming the musical during her divorce proceedings in a September interview with CBS News Sunday Morning.
“It was a really tough time,” she admitted then. “Every moment on set, every moment I was doing this role, I was so happy, and then it was like, back home, it was not great.”
She described the challenge of balancing work and personal turmoil. “And it was just like, oh, you know, ‘How do I reconcile this?'”
The couple finalized their divorce in February, citing irreconcilable differences.
