Jennifer Lopez's Dating History: Ben Affleck, Marc Anthony More
In the past few years, it seems like Jennifer Lopez‘s love life has taken over the headlines. After all, it’s no secret that Lopez almost broke the internet in the summer of 2021 when she announced that she and her ex Ben Affleck had gotten back together. Two Hollywood icons giving love another go? We just couldn’t take it!
Sadly, however, while their spark was surely rekindled (the two got engaged and married in quick succession in 2022), the two already called it quits. On August 20, 2024, a.k.a. what would’ve been Lopez and Affleck’s two-year anniversary of their Atlanta wedding, Lopez filed for divorce in Los Angeles, TMZ first reported.
But as fans of Lopez and Affleck still mourn their second go-round, and continue to find out what really went on between them, we’re taking a look back at all of Lopez’s relationships over the years. From her four weddings and divorces, her rumored flings and her two relationships with her backup dancers, check out Lopez’s full relationship timeline below!
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David Cruz (1984 – 1994)
Lopez’s relationship with David Cruz is one of her longest — a decade — and he was ostensibly her first serious boyfriend. Cruz and Lopez were involved from 1984 to 1994, meaning she started dating him when she was around 15 years old and they remained together through the beginning of Lopez’s career. Cruz was there when Lopez got her first big gig on In Living Color. He moved with Lopez from New York to Los Angeles in order to help her realize her dreams. Talk about putting your life on hold to make sure bae succeeds, right?
Ojani Noa (1996 – 1998)
Lopez’s first marriage, to actor and producer Ojani Noa, lasted from 1997 to 1998. The couple first started dating in 1996 after the singer met Noa while he was working as a waiter in Miami.
Noa and Lopez were together just as Lopez began to secure better acting roles, including a star turn in Out of Sight opposite George Clooney, Anaconda and Antz.
Eventually, however, her marriage to Noa crumbled, and for years afterward, reports surfaced that Noa was trying to maintain his 15 minutes of fame by dragging Lopez through the mud and even threatened to release a sex tape of the singer. Not cool, bro.
Luckily, in 2009, Lopez was granted a restraining order which prevented Noa from releasing footage.
As recently as September 2024, Noa was still speaking about their relationship, telling the Daily Mail: “I was there at the beginning of her career supporting her, -dealing with her anxieties and insecurities.”
“I was a really good husband because I believe in marriage. When we divorced, I was heartbroken. I feel when she got what she wanted, I was no longer needed,” he saif.
Tommy Mottola (1998)
You want something very scandalous? Apparently, Lopez had a short-lived dalliance with legendary Sony music exec Tommy Mottola shortly after he divorced Mariah Carey and she was divorced from Noa. Mottola and Lopez’s rumored hook-up is the stuff of legend; maybe this is how Mariah Carey claims to “not know” Lopez.
Sean ‘P. Diddy’ Combs (1999 – 2001)
For the most sentient Millenials, Lopez’s famous romantic entanglements begin with her relationship with rapper and producer Sean “P. Diddy” Combs.
The pair met in 1999 while working on Lopez’s debut album On the 6, which featured such iconic late ’90s/early ’00s hits as “If You Had My Love” and “Waiting for Tonight.”
From here until 2001, Lopez was making headlines and cuddling up to Combs, including at the 2000 Grammy Awards in this iconic Versace dress.
Lopez revealed in a 2003 interview with Vibe that Combs cheated on her during their relationship.
“It was the first time I was with someone who wasn’t faithful,” she told the publication. “I was in this relationship with Puff where I was totally crying, crazy and going nuts, it really took my whole life in a tailspin… I never caught him, but I just knew. He’d say he was going to a club for a couple of hours and then never come back that night.”
In a 2021 interview with Vanity Fair, Combs referred to Lopez as “my friend.”
Cris Judd (2001 – 2003)
Lopez met dancer Cris Judd in 2000 when he appeared in her Love Don’t Cost a Thing music video. In September 2001, they got married.
Interestingly, this is not the only backup dancer to have cha-cha’ed his way into Lopez’s heart, but more on that later.
Lopez and Judd barely made it out of the early ’00s, divorcing in 2003. Scandalously, Lopez began dating Ben Affleck before her divorce from Judd was finalized. During her marriage to Judd, Lopez released her sophomore album, J.Lo, and starred in The Wedding Planner, Angel Eyes, Enough and Maid in Manhattan — arguably the peak of Lopez’s prime acting years.
Lopez opened up about their split in her 2003 interview with Vibe. “Marriage is not just about love,” she said. “I loved Cris, still love him, he’s one of the best people. This wasn’t an easy thing to walk away from, but we didn’t have what it takes to make a marriage work.”
Ben Affleck (2002 – 2004)
If you know almost anything about Lopez’s love life, then you know about Ben Affleck and Lopez’s union. The couple, infamously known as “Bennifer” while they were together from 2002 to 2004, made headlines at first for their flopped movie — Gigli — and then afterward for their ostensible power-couple status.
The couple’s relationship frequently made headlines, a reality Lopez poked fun at in her now-iconic “Jenny From The Block” music video which Affleck starred in. “We didn’t try to have a public relationship,” Lopez told People in 2016. “We just happened to be together at the birth of the tabloids.”
Affleck and Lopez got engaged in 2002 with a ring that reportedly cost $2.5 million but they continued to face intense scrutiny, as Affleck reflected on in a 2021 appearance on The Hollywood Reporter’s Awards Chatter podcast
“People were so f— mean about her — sexist, racist. Ugly, vicious s— was written about her in ways that if you wrote it now you would literally be fired for saying those things you said,” he said.
The couple called off their September 2003 wedding three days before they were due to tie the knot.
“When we found ourselves seriously contemplating hiring three separate ‘decoy brides’ at three different locations, we realized that something was awry,” they said in a statement at the time.
Lopez’s reps confirmed their split in January 2004.
“I was eviscerated,” Lopez told Vanity Fair in 2017. I lost my sense of self, questioned if I belonged in this business, thought maybe I did suck at everything. My relationship self-destructed in front of the entire world.”
Marc Anthony (2004 – 2011)
While Lopez’s relationship with Affleck almost ended in marriage, it didn’t take long for Lopez to walk down the aisle again. After her split with Affleck, Lopez fell for Puerto Rican singer Marc Anthony in 2004 and announced their engagement later that year.
Seven years together yielded two children (twins Max and Emme born in 2008), one film collaboration (the biopic El Cantante) and the bulk of Lopez’s discography (albums Rebirth, Como Ama Una Mujer, Brave and Love?).
Lopez and Anthony parted ways in 2011 and briefly reunited onstage in 2016, sparking rumors of a romance, but the pair maintained that they were amicable and simply wanted to work together again.
Lopez has always remained positive when reflecting on their marriage.
“When my marriage ended, it was not easy to find forgiveness. It wasn’t the dream that I had hoped for, and it would have been easier to fan the flames of resentment, disappointment and anger,” she told W Magazine in 2017. “But Marc is the father of my children, and that’s never going away. So I have to work to make things right. And that is, by far, the hardest work I do.”
Casper Smart (2011 – 2016)
Remember when we said there was another backup dancer in Lopez’s dating history? Well, Lopez dated her backup Casper Smart on and off for five years after her split with Marc Anthony.
The couple hit a bump in the road when Smart was allegedly caught texting another woman in 2014. The pair reconciled but split for good in 2016 when Smart allegedly cheated again.
“She kicked him out because he cheated on her, and he got caught,” a source told People. “It happened two years ago, and he promised he would never do it again, and once he did, she was done.”
Drake (2016 – 2017)
Drake and Lopez were, for a brief time, rumored to be dating in a super romantic and sexy way from late 2016 to early 2017. The pair reportedly spent New Year’s together and low-key boasted about their involvement with a fireside Instagram. The pair never publicly confirmed or denied their relationship; instead, Lopez would only confirm that she collaborated with Drake on a song from his playlist More Life, so all we have to go on are the stories from friends and undisclosed sources and our own imaginings. Sigh.
Alex ‘Arod’ Rodriguez (2017 – 2021)
Following her rumored fling with Drake, Lopez embarked on another long-term relationship: with former baseball player Alex “Arod” Rodriguez. After two years of dating, and countless stylish red carpets, the athlete got down on one knee in the Bahamas and proposed to the mom of two in 2019.
In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic meant that they canceled not one but two separate wedding ceremonies, People reports.
By April 2021, however, the pair called it quits. “We have realized we are better as friends and look forward to remaining so,” the pair announced to the Today Show at the time. “We will continue to work together and support each other on our shared businesses and projects. We wish the best for each other and one another’s children. Out of respect for them, the only other comment we have to say is thank you to everyone who has sent kind words and support.”
Ben Affleck (2021 – 2024)
In the summer of 2021, Lopez all but broke the internet when she posted a photo of her and Affleck kissing on Instagram announcing their reconciliation. Shortly after, they walked their first red carpet together in two decades at the Venice Film Festival in September.
“It’s a beautiful love story that we got a second chance,” Lopez told People in February 2022. In April 2022, Affleck and Lopez got engaged for the second time and married in a small Las Vegas ceremony three months later before hosting a larger ceremony in Georgia that August.
“Some old wounds were healed that day and the weight of the past finally lifted off our shoulders. Full-circle — and not at all the way we planned it. Better,” Lopez wrote in a newsletter after the wedding. “This was the perfect timing.”
However, in May 2024, reports about the couple’s marital troubles began to swirl. “They started having issues a few months ago as Jen had started ramping up work commitments and prepping for her tour,” Us Weekly reported at the time. “They are on two completely different pages most of the time.”
In May, Affleck reportedly moved out of their shared home and purchased a new property in July.
On August 20, 2024, aka what would’ve been Lopez and Affleck’s two-year anniversary of their Atlanta wedding, Lopez filed for divorce in Los Angeles, TMZ first reported. Per the outlet, the listed date of separation is months prior on April 26, 2024.
“She tried really hard to make things work, and is heartbroken,” a source told People about her decision. “The kids are a top priority, as they always have been.”
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