During Jennifer Lopez’s appearance on TODAY, anchor Craig Melvin brought up her divorce from Ben Affleck — and the singer-actress handled it with humor and grace.
After two years of marriage and dedicating her ninth album to Affleck, Lopez officially filed for divorce from the actor-director, marking her fourth marriage. Though the two remain on good terms — Lopez still spends time with Affleck’s children from his marriage to Jennifer Garner — she was clearly caught off guard when his name came up during the Monday (October 6) interview.
Lopez was on the show to promote her upcoming musical drama Kiss of the Spider Woman when Melvin said, “In the middle of filming this elaborate, beautiful musical, your divorce was also finalized.”
Lopez burst out laughing, replying, “There you go! Look at this guy!”
Melvin then added, “But then, I read your ex is an executive producer.”
“He is,” Lopez replied, confirming Affleck’s role in the film. “If it wasn’t for Ben, the movie wouldn’t have gotten made, and I’ll always give him that credit. And yeah, things happen. You just have to keep going.”
The pop superstar went on to explain that filming Kiss of the Spider Woman was a deeply healing experience for her, calling it an exercise in “escapism.”
“It’s about how movies and art save us during the hardest times in our lives,” she said. “Working on this project was such a dream come true for me, and it really helped me get through and survive a tough moment in my personal life as well.”
While expressing gratitude toward Affleck for encouraging her to take on the role of Ingrid Luna — a part she said she was “born to play” in Kiss of the Spider Woman — Lopez also admitted during CBS Sunday Morning last week that going through their divorce was “a really tough time.”
“It was hard not to think about stuff. It was the best and the worst of times, in a way,” Lopez admitted.
“Honestly, I have to say it was the best thing that ever happened to me,” she continued. “Because it changed me… it helped me grow in a way that I needed to grow. Become more self-aware. I’m a different person now than I was last year.”
