The Inside Story Of Jennifer Lopez's Four Divorces

Jennifer Lopez has been engaged six times — twice to actor Ben Affleck — and married four times. Although the singer's turbulent love life has unfolded publicly, she is still romantic at heart. Lopez told reporters in 2014 (via USA Today), "You know, I've always believed in that institution [marriage]. I believe in it, but it is difficult. I've had my challenges, but at the same time I believe in love, and I think that is the main thing."

Lopez has been divorced thrice, and at the time of writing, has filed for divorce from Affleck. The pair has one of the most erratic love stories in Hollywood. In 2021, fans warmly received news of their rekindled relationship after a years-long hiatus, and over three years later, news of their looming divorce elicited both sad and humorous reactions.

Nicki Swift spoke exclusively to divorce attorney Renee Bauer, the founder of Happy Even After Family Law, who helped us unpack Lopez's journey from the first time she walked down the aisle. Were there any patterns the public missed out on? Are there any lessons she may have gotten from her experiences? Bauer, who has handled divorce cases for 20 years, first explained that the truth about any divorce lies with those involved. "No one is going to really know the cause except for the couple," Bauer told Nicki Swift. "And even then, the couple usually has two different versions of their perception of what happened."

Jennifer Lopez and Ojani Noa first crossed paths in 1996 while the latter was a waiter at Larios on the Beach, a Miami restaurant owned by Latin music legend Gloria Estefan. Despite a tiny language barrier — Lopez didn't know Spanish and Noa wasn't fluent in English, as he shared with the Daily Mail — the duo began dating.

The swiftness with which Lopez fell in love is a pattern in most of her relationships (two weeks after she and Alex Rodriguez announced their broken engagement, Ben Affleck was spotted at Lopez's home). According to our expert Renee Bauer, Lopez often throws caution to the wind during the honeymoon phase of dating. Bauer explained, "When I look at JLo, I see a woman who loves being in love and all the highs and adrenaline that comes from a new relationship."

Lopez and Noa tied the knot in February 1997. The couple had fights in private, which they would mask during public appearances. "I can tell you in my own experience, we would have disagreements in the car and then 20 minutes later, we'd have to sit and pretend everything was fine," Noa disclosed in his chat with the Daily Mail. Lopez and Noa officially divorced in 1998, and Noa got a supposed $50,000 settlement. "When we divorced, I was heartbroken. I feel when she got what she wanted, I was no longer needed," Noa told the publication.

After Jennifer Lopez and Ojani Noa went their separate ways, the former lovers remained cordial. In April 2002, Lopez launched a restaurant named Madre's in Pasadena, California, and hired Noa to manage it. Six months later, Noa was unceremoniously fired, and he filed a lawsuit against Lopez in December 2004, citing a breach of contract. That marked the beginning of the exes' legal woes.

On April 10, 2006, Lopez sued Noa for threatening to publish a tell-all book about their lives. Noa had reportedly asked for $5 million in exchange for his silence. Nearly two months later, Noa had acknowledged an injunction that stopped him from publishing the book. In December 2006, Noa changed his mind and told a Los Angeles judge of the injunction (via the Los Angeles Times), "I didn't agree to it. I want to fight this thing to the end."

Lopez eventually won the case against Noa in August 2007. The waiter-turned-OnlyFans model was ordered to pay the actor $545,000 (inclusive of $200,000 in damages). Subsequently, he was asked to surrender the manuscript and any related material. The judgment was made by arbitrator Richard Chernick, who further prohibited Noa from "criticizing, denigrating, casting in a negative light or otherwise disparaging" Lopez.

Ojani Noa attempted to make a film about his life with Jennifer Lopez, but his efforts were futile. In October 2009, The Wrap obtained a cease-and-desist letter addressed to Noa and his production partners, which referenced the creation of a mockumentary dubbed "How I Married Jennifer Lopez: The JLo and Ojani Noa Story." The following month, Lopez sued Noa for $10 million. The actor accused him of breach of contract and invasion of privacy. 

Noa also reportedly had the intention of including private family videos of Lopez and himself in the mockumentary. He told E! News in November 2009, "They think I have a sex tape with her [Lopez] and that I'm trying to sell it. My tape is from our honeymoon, the wedding, us hanging out. There's no nudity — maybe one spanking." In December 2009, a Los Angeles judge banned Noa from using the tapes. Noa told reporters at the time (via People), "They're trying to stop me from making my documentary and I'm fighting for my rights."

In December 2010, Noa and his then-girlfriend and co-producer, Claudia Vazquez, took legal action against Lopez. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the duo had already secured production and distribution partnerships with NBC and Telemundo before Lopez halted their filmmaking plans. They were seeking a $10 million compensation. Lopez filed an anti-SLAPP motion, which was unsuccessful, but she eventually won after making an appeal.

Jennifer Lopez and Cris Judd met on the set of her "Love Don't Cost a Thing" music video in 2000. For Judd, there was no doubt that he had an instant connection with the "Hustlers" star, as he told "Oprah: Where Are They Now?" "So, when Jennifer walks in, I shake her hand and we kind of look at each other ... In my head, I'm like 'Oh my God! I'm going to marry this woman,'" Judd recalled. True to his word, the couple had their nuptials in September 2001 at a scenic residential property in Calabasas, California.

In June 2002, word got out that Judd and Lopez's marriage was on the rocks, and the duo was keeping up public appearances while separated. Per People (via CNN), a source close to the couple said the breakup "was mutual." Lopez officially initiated divorce proceedings in July 2002 on the grounds of irreconcilable differences. The exes reportedly didn't have a prenuptial agreement. However, they amicably agreed on how to divide their joint assets.

According to divorce attorney Renee Bauer, Lopez has a strong ability to recognize when a relationship has run its course. Bauer told Nicki Swift, "What I also see in JLo is a woman who knows when a chapter has come to completion and she isn't going to compromise her own happiness to "stick it out." If you look at her first two marriages, they were short. She knew it was not working and she got out quick."

Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck met when filming the romantic comedy "Gigli." The Martin Brest-directed flick was filmed from December 2001 to March 2002. In an interview with People, Lopez said of the first time she met Affleck, "I felt like ... 'Okay, this is it.'" At the time, Lopez and Cris Judd had been married for over two months.

The overlapping timelines fueled rumors that Lopez had cheated on Judd with Affleck. In a 2003 chat with Reader's Digest (via Entertainment Weekly), Lopez denied any romantic involvement with Affleck prior to the end of her relationship with Judd. "I'm a very faithful person," she shared. "If somebody had told me, 'Ben's attracted to you,' I would have said, 'No, I wasn't raised that way.'"

Although Lopez made her side of the story clear, one person — her ex-father-in-law, Larry Jud — didn't believe her. Larry told the New York Daily News, "She [Lopez] was infatuated with Ben Affleck from the start. She'd be happier if she'd just tell the truth." When Larry called out Lopez publicly, he drove a wedge between himself and his son, Cris. In his interview with "Oprah: Where Are They Now?" Cris revealed that they didn't talk for more than one year afterward.

Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony first crossed paths in 1998 when the "I Need You" singer starred in the Broadway musical, "The Capeman." They both pursued other relationships — Anthony was married to ex-Miss Universe Dayanara Torres from May 2000 to June 2004, although they separated in July 2002. Lopez and Anthony eventually reconnected and got married in a surprise backyard wedding in June 2004. In February 2008, the couple had twins, Emme Maribel Muñiz and Max Muñiz.

Lopez and Anthony announced their impending divorce in a statement to People in July 2011. In an interview with ABC, Anthony explained that their split was amicable and foreseeable. "It was a realization on both our parts," Anthony told ABC. "It wasn't shocking. These things happen ... It's a decision that we made jointly."

Anthony formally filed for divorce in April 2012. At the time, Lopez had already moved on and was dating dancer Casper Smart. In a chat with "Extra," Anthony acknowledged Smart's relationship with Lopez, saying, "Jennifer and I have a responsibility to the kids, so does Casper. He fulfills a very, very important role, and my children love him and respect him, and so do I." 

Jennifer Lopez embarked on a multi-continental tour dubbed the "Dance Again" world tour in 2012. The tour got its name from Lopez's hit song with rapper Pitbull, which spent 12 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and peaked at No. 17. It kicked off at the Figali Convention Centre, Panama, in June and saw the singer-actor traverse South America, Europe, Asia, and Oceania. The "Dance Again" world tour came to a close in Puerto Rico in December 2012. At the final concert, Lopez and Marc Anthony's fans were treated to a performance by the duo.

Ironically, Lopez had gone on tour to be distracted from her and Anthony's divorce. In an interview with "Lorraine," Lopez said, "It was a hard time. And, to decide to go on tour really came from the fact that I was in a lot of pain at the time. I just needed something else to focus on. It really held up a mirror to who I was, and who I'd been, and who I was becoming."

The "Dance Again" world tour was wildly successful. Lopez reportedly made $1 million in revenue every night. Overall, the "Maid in Manhattan" star grossed a reported $52 million in 2012, which came from touring and her role as a judge in the reality TV series "¡Q'Viva!: The Chosen." 

Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony's divorce was finalized in June 2014. The couple was granted joint custody of their children, Emme Maribel Muñiz and Max Muñiz. Anthony would have to spend a week with Emme and Max every month. He and Lopez additionally vowed to keep them away from the watchful eyes of the paparazzi.

In a November 2014 conversation with HuffPost, Lopez said she and Anthony had a cordial co-parenting relationship, and she'd vouch for him in absentia. "Marc and I are very good friends, we're very supportive," Lopez told the publication. "I feel it's my responsibility as a mom, when their dad is not there, to let them know that their dad loves them very much because that's the doubt that they have when he's not around or they haven't seen him."

According to attorney Renee Bauer, Lopez's divorce from Anthony was the most impactful in the singer's life. Bauer told Nicki Swift, "That marriage endured and is probably the marriage that left its greatest mark on how she moved forward in other relationships." Lopez had to navigate dating as a mom after her split from Anthony. If a relationship were serious — as it were when she dated and got engaged to former baseball player Alex Rodriguez — she had to consider the possibility of blending families.

When Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck first started dating, the couple was the talk of town. Things seemed serious between the duo after Lopez revealed that Affleck had proposed in November 2002. Sadly, the pair never made it to the altar — they called off their September 2003 wedding then temporarily separated. In January 2004, Lopez's publicist confirmed their split in a statement to People.

Years after their original relationship ended, Lopez and Affleck had a second chance at love. The couple first sparked rumors that they were dating again in April 2021 and finally made their red-carpet debut at the September 2021 premiere of Affleck's film "The Last Duel." They tied the knot in a lowkey Las Vegas wedding in July 2022.

In August 2024, TMZ broke the news that Lopez had filed for divorce from Affleck. Lopez had reportedly filed without legal representation. According to divorce attorney Renee Bauer, Lopez's move was an indicator that her finances were in order. "This tells me that they likely worked out the details of untangling finances already and she feels like she does not need legal advocacy," Bauer told Nicki Swift. "It also tells me when they got married, they probably kept their finances separate from each other, which could be something she learned after having a few divorces under her belt." 

Jennifer Lopez has worked with her manager, Benny Medina, for years. The pair began working together in 1997, fell out in June 2003, and repaired their relationship in 2008. Lopez's association with Medina is not only professional but also personal. He was the best man at Lopez's 2001 wedding to Cris Judd and even third-wheeled on their Italian honeymoon. When Lopez and Marc Anthony welcomed their twin son and daughter in 2008, Medina was named the children's godfather. 

Medina has his own thoughts about Lopez's penchant for continual monogamy. In a 2012 Vogue feature, he said, "The thing that I always sort of wished is that she would give herself time to just naturally meet someone, instead of having nearly obsessive guys pursue her."

At the time of writing, Medina reportedly has a longstanding feud with Affleck, which began when the "Gone Girl" actor and Lopez ended their first engagement. An unnamed informant told Page Six, "The two of them [Affleck and Medina] can't stand each other. They don't get along and there's still bad blood." Another source told In Touch Weekly that Lopez's relationship with Medina may have been a deal-breaker in her marriage to Affleck. "Being married to Jennifer Lopez feels like being married to Benny Medina, too," they said. "She won't do anything without her manager and even insisted he accompany her and Ben on their honeymoon!"

Jennifer Lopez may have filed for divorce from Ben Affleck, but as of September 2024, fans are speculating that the couple may not be divorcing after all. On September 14, 2024, Page Six reported that Affleck and Lopez were seen getting cozy with each other during brunch at The Beverly Hills Hotel. The pair was in the company of their children, who sat at a different table. Two days later, an anonymous source told People that Lopez and Affleck would still get divorced despite their public show of affection.

If the claims are true, Lopez and Affleck's divorce won't be messy because the singer has set precedence for a harmonious process by filing on her own. Divorce attorney Renee Bauer told Nicki Swift, "Divorce takes an emotional toll on people, no matter how amicable, so by JLo [filing pro se] ... she is setting the stage for a quick and easy resolution. This is also common in divorce when couples are trying to keep costs down and already know how they are dividing assets. They go to the lawyer and say, 'This is what we agreed to. Write it up.' This approach minimizes time, cost, and the emotional toll divorce can take."