Jennifer Lopez gives heartfelt message on divorce from Ben Affleck: “It was the best thing that ever happened to me”
Speaking as she promotes her new movie, ‘Kiss of the Spider Woman’, Lopez opened up on the break-up of her marriage to Affleck.
Speaking ahead of the release of her latest movie, Jennifer Lopez has declared that the break-up of her marriage to fellow Hollywood star Ben Affleck was “the best thing that ever happened” to her.
Lopez finalized her divorce from Affleck in January, two and a half years after the couple tied the knot in Las Vegas.
When Lopez filed for divorce in August 2024, it emerged that she and Affleck had separated that spring - a period when she was filming Kiss of the Spider Woman, a musical now poised for release.
“Really tough time”
“It was a tough time - it was a really tough time,” Lopez told CBS Sunday Morning’s Lee Cowan at the weekend.
Shooting Kiss of the Spider Woman served as a refuge from marital strife, Lopez said: “It was hard not to think about stuff - it was the best and the worst of times.
“Every moment on set and every moment I was doing this role, I was so happy. And then back home it was not great. And it was just like, ‘Oh, how do I reconcile this?’
“But you get through it and, honestly, I have to say it was the best thing that ever happened to me. Because it […] helped me grow in a way that I needed to grow, become more self-aware.
“I’m a different person now than I was last year, I think.”
Lopez added: “I am [in a good place]. This summer was probably the best summer I’ve ever had. I had so much fun. I’m able to enjoy things more.
“The joy is in living and these moments and really embracing life and everything that it brings to you, for the lessons it brings and then for all the triumphs it brings. The hard times are the lessons, and you have to understand that.
“And once you do, everything becomes a little bit lighter and you can really, really fly. And if that hadn’t happened, I wouldn’t understand that.”
When is Kiss of the Spider Woman out?
An adaption of Manuel Puig’s 1976 novel of the same name, Kiss of the Spider Woman is due for release in U.S. movie theaters on Friday, October 10. Directed by Bill Condon, the film also stars Diego Luna and Tonatiuh.
Affleck “helped make it happen”
Among Kiss of the Spider Woman’s producers is Artists Equity - a company Affleck co-founded, alongside Good Will Hunting co-star and co-writer Matt Damon.
Speaking to CBS, Lopez acknowledged that the financing provided by her ex-husband’s firm was crucial. “The movie wouldn’t have been made if it wasn’t for him and Artists Equity," she told Cowan. “I will always give him that credit […]. He helped make it happen.”
Kiss of the Spider Woman - watch the trailer:
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