The singer and actress, who later married Ben Affleck in 2022, reflected on their past breakup

Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez. PHOTO: LIONEL HAHN/WIREIMAGE

Jennifer Lopez is opening up about a challenging time with now-husband Ben Affleck.

In a Wednesday interview with Apple Music 1’s Zane Lowe, the Hustlers actress, 54, recalls how she and the Air star, 51, called off their first wedding in September 2003, nearly two decades before they finally tied the knot.

“We didn’t break up right at that moment, it happened over the series of the next few months,” explained Lopez, who eventually split from Affleck in January 2004. “Because what it did was it casted doubt in me, and both of us, about what our relationship was and where it was going, I think.”

“I knew in my heart that I wanted to be with him for the rest of my life, I knew that. But it didn’t feel like we were going to make it,” continued Lopez, whose new film This Is Me…Now: A Love Story premieres Friday on Prime Video. “And so, it scared me.”

Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck.AXELLE/BAUER-GRIFFIN/FILMMAGIC

Lopez, who met Affleck in 2002 while making the movie Gigli, said they weren’t “mature enough” to figure out their relationship.

“Even though he was in his late 20s, I was in my early 30s, it still, it wasn’t … we weren’t ready to deal with, and look at each other and go, what we have is real, we need to buckle down, we need to do some work,” she explained. “We just weren’t there yet.”

After their breakup, Lopez married singer Marc Anthony, with whom she shares 15-year-old twins Max and Emme. She and Anthony split in 2011 after seven years of marriage.

Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez at the Los Angeles Special Screening Of “Marry Me” on February 08, 2022 in Los Angeles, California.FRAZER HARRISON/GETTY

The Argo director went on to wed Jennifer Garner in 2005. The couple welcomed Violet, 18, Seraphina, 15, and Samuel, 11, before breaking up in 2015.

“We went, and we both tried, and found other people, and had beautiful children, and had other families, and then even had other relationships after that,” Lopez said in her interview with Lowe.

“It wasn’t until both of us had done, I know for me, a lot of work, and got into a place where I was like, ‘You know what? I’m totally good on my own. I’m chill, I love my life, I have this amazing career that I’ve built for myself, I have these amazing children … I have great friends.’ That’s when he showed back up,” she said.

She and Affleck reunited as a couple in 2021 and wed in a surprise Las Vegas ceremony the following year.

At Tuesday night’s Los Angeles premiere of This Is Me…Now, Lopez got emotional while acknowledging Affleck ahead of the screening.

“There is the person who inspired this for me, who has inspired me my whole life. He just, he inspired an album 20 years ago and I know he hates that I’m doing this right now,” she said, referring to Affleck and her 2002 album This Is Me…Then.

“He’s just like, ‘Please shut up.’ No! And I say no. I say, I love you and thank you for believing in me and helping me believe in myself,” she said. “And helping me to grow every single day. Thank you for the family that we’ve created and our children and everything that you do for me.”

Jennifer Lopez opened up about her romantic journey with Ben Affleck in a candid conversation on The Kyle And Jackie O Show, finally revealing why it took 18 years to reunite with her ex.

The couple, whose early 2000s romance and subsequent split made headlines, found their way back to each other nearly two decades later, leading to a Las Vegas wedding in July 2022.

Reflecting on their initial breakup in 2004, Jennifer, at 54, articulated the personal growth she and Ben, now 51, underwent in the intervening years.

“I fell in love with the love of my life [earlier in my life] and for whatever reasons that we needed to grow and do other things,” she shared.

Jennifer and Ben shared a sweet kiss

This period of growth saw them both engaging in different relationships, and marriages and embracing parenthood with other partners.

Jennifer, who shares twins Max and Emme, 16, with ex Marc Anthony, and Ben, father to Violet, 18, and Seraphina, 15, from his marriage to Jennifer Garner, both found that their life experiences enriched them personally.

Jennifer married Ben in 2022

It was this maturation and self-discovery that Jennifer credits for preparing her for their unexpected reconciliation.

“It’s not something we ever planned. We really had moved on with our lives but when we reconnected, it was almost instant and we just knew,” Jennifer recounted, emphasizing the serendipitous nature of their rekindled romance.

 The sense of certainty and belief in their bond was mutual and instantaneous, a feeling neither anticipated but both deeply cherished.

The I’m Real hitmaker delved deeper into her transformative years as a mother and during her marriage to Marc Anthony. She described this period as a “real journey,” one that was instrumental in her quest to become the best version of herself—for her children and as a role model.

Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez reunited after almost two decades

 “I was on a real journey ever since my kids were born,” she said, highlighting the profound impact motherhood had on her.

Her self-exploration didn’t halt post-divorce; instead, it spurred another phase of self-reflection, particularly in the realm of relationships. Jennifer’s path to self-sufficiency and contentment was a pivotal turning point, leading her to a place of readiness for love.

“I was like ‘I’m good on my own, I’m fine, I love my life’. And when you get to that place, I think that’s when the universe kind of opened up to me and was like, ‘OK now you’re ready’,” she expressed.

Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck do some shopping in St Barts’ capital Gustavia on Friday afternoon

Ahead of the triple release, Jennifer – along with her disclaimer, “By the way, I thought I was crazy,” – opened up to Variety about the risky decision to tell her story, and candidly revealed the many hurdles and objections she faced from her team and celebrity friends alike.

Explaining why she’s adamant about sharing some of the most private details about her past and current relationships, as well as her failures, the Hustlers actress first looked back at her 2003 break-up from Ben, three days before their wedding, and shared: “Our relationship crumbled under the weight of the pressure,” adding: “We lost a sense of ourselves, and we needed to separate because we didn’t know how to survive it. I had to figure myself out, and he had to figure himself out.”