Jennifer Lopez Says 'True Love Does Exist' as She Recalls Her 'Biggest Heartbreak' with Ben Affleck
Jennifer Lopez is reflecting on her love story with Ben Affleck as she gears up to release This Is Me...Now — a follow-up to her 2002 release This Is Me...Then.
During an interview with Zane Lowe on Apple Music 1 on Monday, the "On the Floor" singer opened up about the message behind her upcoming album — and offered fans a piece of advice on love: don't give up on it.
"We captured me at this moment in time when I was reunited with the love of my life and we decided we were going to be together forever. The whole message of the album [This Is Me...Then] is, 'This love exists. This is a real love,'" Lopez, 53, told Lowe.
She continued, "Now I think what the message of [This Is Me...Now] is — if you have, like me at times, lost hope, almost given up, don't. True love does exist and some things do last forever and that's real. I want to put that message out into the world and that does take a lot of vulnerability."
Apple Music 1 Jennifer Lopez
In 2004, following the release of This Is Me...Then and her split from Affleck, 50 — whom she was engaged to at the time — Lopez went through a "painful" journey.
"Dude, I wouldn't even perform these records. It was so painful after we broke up. Once we called off that wedding 20 years ago, it was the biggest heartbreak of my life. I honestly felt like I was going to die," she recalled. "It sent me on a spiral for the next 18 years where I just couldn't get it right. But now, 20 years later, it does have a happy ending. It has the most would-never-happen-in-Hollywood ending."
The full interview is available now on Apple Music 1.
Lopez announced the 13-track album on Friday by recreating the cover and then transforming into 2022 J.Lo. She wrote on Instagram, "This is me then, this is me now."
The Marry Me star's new project "chronicles the emotional, spiritual and psychological journey that she has taken over the past two decades," according to a press release, and comes on the heels of her marriage to Affleck, whom the album was originally dedicated to.
Apple Music 1 Jennifer Lopez and Zane Lowe
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Elsewhere in the interview, Lopez said Affleck is her biggest fan.
"He loves that album. He loves that music. He knows all of the words. You know what I mean? It's crazy. He also was with me while I was creating it," she said. "He knows it so well and he loves it so much. He's my biggest fan, which is awesome, and supporter. When he came back into my life again, the same thing happened where I felt so inspired and so overtaken with emotion that it was just pouring out of me."
Steve Granitz/FilmMagic Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez
The singer's ninth studio album marks her return to writing and producing, and showcases "a vulnerability never" shown before, while merging her powerhouse vocals with both confessional songs and upbeat "celebrations of love," the release said.
A release date for the album is yet to be announced.
