Jennifer Lopez has broken her silence following her recent separation from husband Ben Affleck. The 55-year-old singer and actress posed topless in a daring shoot for the latest issue of Interview magazine, where she candidly discussed her emotional turmoil and the profound lessons she has learned through her ongoing journey of self-discovery.
Lopez graced the cover in a sexy leopard print ensemble, a bold choice that matches the fierce spirit she embodies. In a heartfelt conversation with comedian Nikki Glaser, the superstar opened up about her feelings, describing this chapter of her life as “sad” and “scary.”
Photo: Interview Magazine Her poignant reflections come after filing for divorce from Affleck, a union that captured the public’s attention since they rekindled their romance and married in July 2022, almost two decades after their initial engagement was called off in 2004.
Lopez’s divorce, officially filed on August 20, 2024, cites April 26, 2024, as the date of separation, marking the end of a tumultuous relationship filled with love, challenges, and a shared history. Throughout the interview, Lopez revealed how her recent experiences have forced her to confront deep-seated lessons about herself.
Reflecting on her ninth studio album, This Is Me…Now, and its accompanying musical project released in 2023, she shared, “I felt like, whoa, I got here. I’m good. I did all the work and look at where I am, and then it was like my whole fucking world exploded.”
Photo: Interview Magazine Lopez articulated the ongoing struggle of self-growth, describing it as “a lifelong process.” Her candid remarks highlight the unpredictability of life and the resilience that comes from facing its challenges.
“There’s times when I thought I figured it out, and then life goes, ‘Let’s send you another thing and see if you fall for it. Let’s see if you really have learned that lesson.’ And I hadn’t,” she stated, showcasing her humility and growth mindset.
“I understand that now in a much deeper way, which doesn’t mean that I won’t make mistakes in the future, but again, when your whole house blows up, you’re standing there in the rubble going, ‘How do I not ever let that happen again?’ And then you start examining it little by little saying, ‘Okay, I did this, this was my part in it, this was what I should have seen early on, this is what I didn’t look at.’ Those things are what really are the lessons.”
She continued: “When you get to a point where you think that you’ve learned the lessons, and then it blows up in your face again, you realize, ‘Okay, I haven’t, so what is it that I need to look at right now?’ I would say, never stop looking inward, because it’s so easy to blame everybody else.”
Photo: Interview Magazine As she navigates her summer, mostly spent apart from Affleck, Lopez emphasizes a vital lesson she has learned: “You have to be complete if you want something that’s more complete. You have to be good on your own. I thought I learned that, but I didn’t. And then, this summer, I had to be like, ‘I need to go off and be on my own. I want to prove to myself that I can do that.’ ”
She also talked about her life as a single woman; nothing that happiness is self-made. “It feels lonely, unfamiliar, scary. It feels sad. It feels desperate. But when you sit in those feelings and go, ‘These things are not going to kill me,’ it’s like actually, I am capable of joy and happiness all by myself,” she told Glaser.
“Being in a relationship doesn’t define me. I can’t be looking for happiness in other people. I have to have happiness within myself. I used to say I’m a happy person, but was still looking for something for somebody else to fill, and it’s just like, ‘No, I’m actually good.’”
As for the Marry Me star, she’s no longer looking for a relationship. Lopez made this known when Glaser hinted at higher standards in her next relationship. And if you thought otherwise, the singer said she has no regrets about how things turned out in her relationship with Ben Affleck.
“There’s no new bar because I’m not looking for anybody. How’s that?” She added, “For people who are romantics and love being in relationships and want to grow old with somebody, we think, ‘I have to have that to be whole and happy.’ And you don’t.”
She continued: “That doesn’t mean it didn’t almost take me out for good. It almost did. But now, on the other side of it, I think to myself, ‘Fuck, that is exactly what I needed. Thank you, god. I’m sorry it took me so long. I’m sorry that you had to do this to me so many times. I should have learned it two or three times ago. I get it. You had to hit me really hard over the head with a fucking sledgehammer. You dropped the house on me. Don’t have to do it again,’” she explained.
“I finally got it! And by the way, that doesn’t mean I have everything figured out. Now I’m excited, when you say you’re just going to be on your own. Yes, I’m not looking for anybody, because everything that I’ve done over the past 25, 30 years, being in these different challenging situations, what can I fucking do when it’s just me flying on my own.”
