7 minute readJennifer Lopez has delivered some of her best performances over the course of her highly successful career, whether it be in roles in romantic comedies or singing passionately about love on her albums. And if you’re a fan of hers, you can tell these performances come from a very real place. Lopez admits to himself and others that he is a romantic.
Her latest projects, the album This is Me…Now and visual album This is Me…Now: A Love Story, as well as the Amazon Prime documentary The Greatest Love Story Never Told, are all about her search for love and reuniting with her husband Ben Affleck.
“I’m seizing this moment to really say what I want to say about love, which is that true love exists and some things are forever,” Lopez told USA Today. “Please don’t give up. That’s all that matters in life…love.”
J.Lo is never giving up. Below is her dating history to date.
Learn more about Jen and Ben
Ojani Noah
Lopez’s first marriage was to Cuban actor and producer Ojani Noa. At the time, he was also working as a waiter and dabbled in a modeling career. They were married from 1997 to 1998 and divorced after 11 months. Lopez later spoke negatively about his previous marriage.
“In this life, you’re always surrounded by people, so it seems like you’re never alone, but you’re very lonely. That’s why you always want someone to be with you,” she said. “So I thought if I got married, I’d always have someone. But life doesn’t work that way. It doesn’t work that way. It’s a bad reason to get married. Not the right one, but the wrong one.”
Lopez added, “The right thing to do is when you find someone who makes you better.”
Meanwhile, Noah still seems a little hurt from the loss of his former lover. In 2022, Lopez was interviewed after her reconciliation with Ben Affleck.
“I wish her and Ben all the best,” he told the Daily Mail. “Jen loves to be in love, but she’s been engaged six times. Ben is her fourth husband. I was her first husband and she said I was the love of her life. On our wedding night, when we lay in bed, she said we would be together forever.”
He added, “We fell in love when she was already famous. But during our marriage, she became a megastar. For years, it was too painful to talk. I wanted to just lie down and live my life. But when I saw her marry Ben, a good man, that feeling came back all at once.”
Sean Combs
Lopez dated Sean “Diddy” Combs from 1999 to 2001, when he produced her hit debut album, On the 6. These were some pretty iconic years in J. Lo’s life. In 2000, she attended the Grammy Awards wearing her very famous green Versace dress, and he was her date that night. In 2003, she told Vibe magazine that their breakup was due to infidelity.
“It was the first time I was with someone who wasn’t faithful,” she said. “I was completely crying, losing my mind, going crazy during my relationship with Puff. It really took up my whole life…I never caught him, but I just knew. He said he was going to a club for a few hours and never came back that night.”
Despite the drama, they have remained on friendly terms, with Combs calling Lopez a “friend” in a 2021 interview with Vanity Fair. However, considering his current legal issues, they may no longer be on speaking terms.
Chris Judd
Lopez met backup dancer Chris Judd while dancing for her “Love Don’t Cost a Thing” video in 2000. It was a truly whirlwind romance, and the two married on September 29, 2001, but filed for divorce by July 2002.
“I got out of a difficult relationship and met a wonderful person who was very refreshing,” Lopez told Vibe. “But marriage is not just about love. I thought I learned that in my first marriage… I loved Chris, I still do, he’s one of the best people. It wasn’t easy walking away from this, but we didn’t have what it took to make our marriage work.”
ben affleck
Ben Affleck and Lopez co-starred on the set of Gigli in 2003. The couple first became engaged in November 2002, but ultimately canceled their wedding, citing “excessive media attention.”
The two officially broke up in early 2004 and went on to pursue other relationships. Affleck is married to actress Jennifer Garner and they have three children: Violet, Seraphina, and Samuel. Lopez is married to singer Marc Anthony and they have twins, Max and Emme. Almost 20 years have passed, during which time they each went through divorces and dating other people. In 2021, it was reported that they were seen spending time together again.
“She’s happy with him and enjoys spending time with him,” a source told People about the recent sighting.
In 2022, the two got engaged again.
The couple wed in Las Vegas on July 16, 2022, and held a second ceremony in August of the same year at Affleck’s mansion in Georgia.
Lopez shared selected photos from the wedding in her On the JLo newsletter, adding details from the ceremony, reception, and the next day’s brunch.
She writes that Affleck said in his wedding speech, “This is heaven. This is it. We’re in it now.”
“To tell you the truth, I never had any doubts,” she wrote. “All week I felt a quiet, restful assurance that we were in God’s hands… It was raining, but the clouds parted just before the ceremony. And finally, I began to descend the stairs that would lead me to the rest of my life. Oh my… It was actually happening…”
mark anthony
Lopez had several ups and downs in relationships before finding her happy ending with Affleck. That includes her third marriage to actor and singer Marc Anthony. They married in June 2004, shortly after she first broke up with Affleck. When the marriage was announced, no one even knew they were dating. However, they had known each other for some time. Anthony collaborated with Lopez on the song “No Me Ames” from On the 6. They welcomed Max and Emme in February 2008.
In July 2011, the pair announced their split in a joint statement to People magazine, saying, “This was a very difficult decision. We have come to an amicable conclusion on all matters.”
In a 2016 interview with W magazine, Lopez said, “When my marriage[with Anthony]ended, it wasn’t easy to get forgiveness…It wasn’t the dream I had hoped for, and it was easier to fan the flames of resentment, disappointment, and anger.” But Mark is the father of my children and that will never go away, so I have to try to make things right. And that’s by far the hardest job for me. Please. ”
Now it appears they are friends and co-parents as well.
“Mark and I are doing great right now,” she said on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen in 2017. “There’s a reason we’re not together. But we’re great friends and we’re parents together, which is even better for us. We met at work, and that’s where we’re really magical. When we’re on stage together, and we leave it there. That’s it.”
In March 2026, Lopez opened up a little more about what her divorce recovery from Anthony was like. The comment was posted during her Las Vegas residency performance and shared by @jpasc24 on Instagram.
“After my third divorce, that’s when I really started getting better,” Lopez joked. “Really, that’s not funny. It’s not funny.”
“It was actually a really difficult time,” she continued. “I was really about to give up on everything. I mean, I was a single mother with two 3-year-old twins, so I called one of my mentors. Her name was Louise Hay. Some of you may know who she was. She passed away.”
Lopez continued, “She said to me, ‘Jennifer, you’re a dancer, right?'” I said, “Yes, I am.” And she said, “What do you do if you’re learning to dance and you make a mistake?” I said, “I’ll keep going until I get the procedure right.” And she said, “You’re right, Jennifer.” Please keep dancing. ”
casper smart
After her marriage ended, Lopez began dating choreographer Casper Smart. They continued an on-and-off relationship until 2016, but their relationship reportedly ended when she grew tired of his infidelity.
“It doesn’t matter if there’s any truth to what’s being reported. Jennifer didn’t trust him,” a source told E! “The relationship didn’t work out for a while. Smart was never going to be the love of her life, but he was fun and a nice guy to be around. Once his friendships with other people started to become apparent, it stopped being fun.”
In a subsequent interview with Univision’s Wake Up America, Smart said that the nearly 20-year age difference contributed to their breakup.
“I was very young and selfish. I thought I was ready to have a relationship with a woman, including children,” he said.
Alex Rodriguez
Lopez and MLB star Alex Rodriguez were rumored to be dating in March 2017. A source told People magazine: “He’s very close to his family and she really loves that he’s her father.”
The athlete proposed in 2019 and began planning their wedding, but it was postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic. They broke up in April 2021 due to the quarantine period.
“We know we are better together as friends and look forward to continuing to do so,” the two said in a joint statement to the Today Show. “We will continue to cooperate and support each other in our common business and projects. We wish each other and each other’s children happiness. In honor of them, the only comment we have to say is to thank everyone who has sent kind words and support.”
At the time, people reported that there were trust issues in their relationship.
“She was in a pretty dire situation,” the source said. “And I didn’t think it was in her best interest to be with Alex.”
Another insider claimed that the lockdown had worsened the problem.
“They both liked spending more time together as a family, but it was hard to maintain that special glow when they saw each other every day,” the source said.
