Jennifer Lopez thinks divorce from Ben Affleck was the 'best thing'

The actor and pop idol recounted in an interview that the separation changed her life forever and enabled her to grow in a way she needed to

  • PUBLISHED: Mon 29 Sept 2025, 2:06 PM

Jennifer Lopez discussed her divorce from Ben Affleck and how it impacted her.

The actor-singer called her split from Affleck and the personal insight she gleaned during that time "the best thing that ever happened to me", according to People.

"Because it changed me," Lopez further explained. "It helped me grow in a way that I needed to grow," she was quoted as saying by People.

Affleck serves as an executive producer on Lopez's new film, Kiss of the Spider Woman. The project premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January, the same month the former pair finalised their divorce.

Recalling working on the film and dealing with ups and downs in her life, she said, "It was a really tough time. 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. And it was just like, oh, you know, 'How do I reconcile this?' "

Affleck and Lopez initially met in 2002 and began dating. After ending their engagement in 2004, they both pursued other relationships and started families of their own, according to People.

The musician was married to Marc Anthony from 2004 to 2014, and they are parents to twins Max and Emme. The actor, meanwhile, was married to Jennifer Garner from 2005 to 2018, and they have three kids together: Violet, Seraphina and Samuel.

Lopez and Affleck rekindled their romance in 2021, and they married in an intimate Las Vegas ceremony in July 2022. They later celebrated their nuptials with a ceremony in Georgia in front of friends and family a month later.

The pair eventually decided to split, and Lopez filed for divorce exactly two years later, citing irreconcilable differences, reported People.

In August, a source reported that Lopez is doing well and focusing on her career, which includes promoting her passion project, Kiss of the Spider Woman.

"This is the movie she filmed last year in New York when she and Ben were going through a difficult time. She's come a long way since. She's very happy and just grateful for her life," the insider said.

Kiss of the Spider Woman, also starring Diego Luna and Tonatiuh, is a film adaptation of the 1993 Broadway classic, which in turn was based on the 1976 novel by Manuel Puig.