Jennifer Lopez reflects on 'lonely, unfamiliar' period
Jennifer Lopez says she is capable of joy and happiness by herself following a tumultuous few months.
2024 was filled with many challenges, but Jennifer Lopez has come out of the storm stronger than ever.
The 55-year-old filed for divorce from Ben Affleck, her husband of two years, in August and cancelled her 'THIS IS ME' tour, allegedly due to poor ticket sales.
Speaking to Interview magazine, Jennifer says figuring herself out after a difficult period feels “lonely," "unfamiliar", and "scary".
The Grammy nominee says she is a romantic at heart and loves being in a relationship, but she has learned that she is capable of joy and happiness all by herself.
"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'," she said.
The 'I Ain't Your Mama' hitmaker has been married four times. She married actor and producer Ojani Noa in 1997, Cris Judd in 2001, Marc Anthony in 2004, and Ben in 2022. The singer has also been engaged several times, including to retired baseball star Alex Rodriguez.
She tells Interview magazine that she has zero regrets about the pain she recently went through.
"Not one second. 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, “F**k, 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 f***ing sledgehammer. You dropped the house on me. Don’t have to do it again.”
You have to be good on your own. I thought I learned that, but I didn’t.
Jennifer says her whole life has been about proving her "enoughness".
"I think my whole life I’ve just been trying to say I’m good enough, until where I am now, when I know. I’m giving myself credit. I’m telling that little girl that grew up in the Bronx, 'You’ve done really good for yourself.'."
JLO has kept a low profile since announcing the end of her marriage to Ben and cancelling her tour, but she is looking forward to getting back out there.
"I was so devastated to let anybody down, but I just needed to be with my kids and myself and really dig down deep into things that were happening in my life. And I’m glad I did, because it was a really difficult time for me. Probably the hardest time of my life, but it was also the best time because I got to do that work on myself."
MORE FROM EAST COAST RADIO:
Jennifer has done a lot of inner work and self-discovery in the past few months, and won't be making the same mistakes again, especially when it comes to love.
Interview magazine asked if she set a new bar for the next person that comes into her life.
"Here’s the thing: There’s no new bar because I’m not looking for anybody. How’s that?"
Cheers to that!
Read Jennifer's full discussion with Interview magazine here.
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Main image credit: Instagram/Interview Magazine