Despite her initial worry, the 'Marry Me' actress reveals that she now 'feels very happy and lucky' to have given her romance with the 'Gone Girl' actor a second chance.
- Feb 1, 2022
AceShowbiz - Jennifer Lopez has opened up more about her rekindled romance with Ben Affleck. Although she's grateful to have given their relationship a second chance, the "Marry Me" actress admitted that she and her on-again beau "had a little bit of fear" about reconnecting at first.
"[We] had a little bit of fear," the 52-year-old pop star confessed in a new interview with PEOPLE as she reflected on the media frenzy surrounding their initial romance. "Before we kind of put [our relationship] out there and we were naive and it got a little trampled."
Luckily, J.Lo and Ben managed to put their worries away. "We both were like, 'Wow, we're so happy and we don't want any of that to come into play again.' We're older now, we're smarter, we have more experience, we're at different places in our lives, we have kids now, and we have to be very conscious of those things. We're so protective because it is such a beautiful time for all of us," she gushed.
"I just feel very happy and lucky to be in a relationship that's happy and loving, and I want to do everything I can to protect that and keep it safe. It deserves that, it really does," the mother of two further noted. "We hold it sacred."
"It's beautiful the way it feels very different than it was years ago. ... There's more of an appreciation and a celebration for it, which is nice," J.Lo went on raving. "When you find somebody and you really, really love them and you get a second chance at that? That is a really rare, precious, beautiful thing and we don't take it for granted."
During the interview, J.Lo couldn't stop showing her love to Ben, who was previously married to Jennifer Garner. "I'm so proud of [him], I'm so proud of the man he's become that I've watched from afar. Being honest with each other, being loving, that's just the basis of everything," she marveled.
"I feel like he's at a place in his life where - just like how I feel about myself - it's been a journey of learning yourself and figuring yourself out, getting to a place where you feel really good on your own and who you are so you can be in a happy, healthy relationship," the ex-wife of Marc Anthony continued. "To see the person, the human being, the man that he is today, the father that he is today, the partner that he is - he is so everything I always knew he was and wanted to be."
Ben and J.Lo, who first dated in 2002 but called off their engagement in 2004, sparked reconciliation rumors in April last year after she split from Alex Rodriguez. She later confirmed her romance with the "Justice League" actor in July when they were vacationing to Europe to celebrate her 52nd birthday.
