Jennifer Lopez is getting candid about the “best and the worst” time of her life.
One year and some change after the pop star filed for divorce from her ex-husband Ben Affleck, she’s sharing details about their split cast a major shadow on a career milestone. During an interview with CBS Sunday Morning aired on Sunday, J.Lo discussed landing her dream role of Ingrid Luna in her upcoming musical Kiss of the Spider Woman, which releases next month. She shot the flick right smack in the middle of 2024 — the same time her and Ben’s marriage was crumbling — which made showing up for work with her A game “barely” possible:
“It was tough. It was a tough time. It was a really tough time.”
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The 56-year-old continued:
“It was hard not to think about stuff — it was the best and the worst of times in a way. Every moment on set, every moment I was doing this role I was so happy, and then back home it was not great. It was just like, ‘Oh, how do I reconcile this?’ But you get through it.”
But now in retrospect, the Hustlers star has managed to find the silver lining of the less-than-ideal situation:
“Honestly I have to say, it was the best thing that ever happened to me. Because it changed me. It helped me grow in a way that I needed to grow. [I] become more self-aware. I’m a different person now than I was last year, I think.”
She noted she’s in a great place now focusing on enjoying her life:
“This summer was probably the best summer I’ve ever had. I had so much fun. I’m able to enjoy things more … I realized that the joy is in living, and these moments, and really embracing life and everything that it brings to you — for the lesson that it brings, and then for all the triumphs that it brings.”
She continued:
“The hard times are the lessons and you have to understand that. And once you do, everything just becomes a little bit lighter, and you can really, really fly. I feel like if that hadn’t happened, I wouldn’t understand that.”
What a fantastic way to find light in such a dark situation! But she’s not done growing yet — she still has plans to “fly higher” than ever before:
“I still feel like I want to fly higher, I want to see more, I want to do more things. But I’m going to savor them in a way that maybe in my 20s and my 30s I didn’t.”
We love that for her!
Elsewhere in the interview, the Jenny from the Block singer addressed her ex directly — but not in a salty way. Actually in a very sweet way! She gave the Oscar-nominated director credit as a producer on Kiss of the Spider Woman, noting the film “wouldn’t have been made if it wasn’t for him and Artists Equity,” his and Matt Damon’s production company:
“That is right. I will always give him that credit … They financed it. I told him this was the role I was born to play and I wanted to do it and he was like, ‘Okay,’ and helped make it happen.”
Wow! After such a public and difficult divorce, we wouldn’t blame her for being annoyed that the dude who put her through so much turmoil is largely responsible for helping her realize a career highlight. But J.Lo is clearly a very grateful person! She has our respect! Watch the trailer for Kiss of the Spider Woman (below):
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[Images via CBS & RoadsideFlix/YouTube & Nicky Nelson/WENN]
