Jennifer Lopez has spoken openly about taking a full year off from work following her divorce from Ben Affleck, describing it as a time of authentic introspection and, ultimately, liberation.
Appearing on Hello America On Wednesday (March 11), Lopez, 56, said she had to “stop everything” after her split from Affleck, 53, explaining that being at home with her twins Max and Emme, 18, whom she shares with ex-husband Marc Anthony, became her immediate priority.
But the time spent there wasn’t limited to family.
“I was just at a point where I was like, ‘What’s happening to you?’” she said. “I couldn’t blame anyone else because I don’t think the lesson was there. And so, I really needed to understand myself.”
Lopez filed for divorce in August 2024 after splitting from Affleck earlier that year, with the divorce finalized in January 2025.
More than a year later, she says she arrived in a place she had never been before.
“I feel like for the first time in my life I’m free. I’m alone. It’s really good. I didn’t really know what it felt like since I was in my 20s, and even before that I always had a boyfriend. There was always someone in my life and so many other things that I felt were out of my control,” she explained.
“I’ve gotten to the point where I really believe in myself and like myself a little more.”
Lopez has had a full romantic history, married to Ojani Noa from 1997 to 1998, Cris Judd from 2001 to 2003, Marc Anthony from 2004 to 2014, and Affleck from 2022 to 2025, with a high-profile engagement to Alex Rodriguez between 2019 and 2021.
Asked again about the possibility of dating, she was adamant.
“God forbid,” she joked. “I don’t want to spoil anything. It’s so nice right now. I’m so happy. It’s the best. I feel really good right now, and it was a scary thing for me when I was younger. I didn’t know if I could do this. I was always really afraid of being alone.”
