JLo's Split From Ben Affleck Was A 'Turning Point' In Her Life: 'Nobody To Blame Here Except Yourself'
Jennifer Lopez isn't afraid to accept responsibility for the breakdown of her marriage to Ben Affleck, and she's saying it out loud, to the world. The messiest moments from Affleck and Lopez's marriage and divorce were laid bare for all to see. But, despite the rocky road, the "Office Romance" star opened up about what she learned from the experience. While sitting down for a chat on the "SmartLess" podcast in June 2026, Lopez confirmed she's not playing the blame game when it comes to the breakdown of her fourth marriage.
"After my last divorce, I just sat there and I canceled my tour and I sat there and I was just like, you need to f***ing figure yourself out," she admitted. "What is going on with you? Forget about everybody else. There's nobody to blame here except yourself in a certain way." The "Play" hitmaker further acknowledged that this introspection was a major "turning point" in her life that helped her finally step onto a path of healing.
Lopez got pretty candid about how her divorce from Affleck "changed" her with Interview magazine in 2024. It turned her whole world upside down, with the A-lister bluntly declaring that life was "f***ing hard" after the split. "It feels lonely, unfamiliar, scary. It feels sad. It feels desperate," she confessed. An invaluable lesson Lopez learned along the way? Being single isn't half bad, and being happy with who you are first and foremost is the most important thing. "I can't be looking for happiness in other people," she reasoned.
Ben Affleck admitted that the split was hard on him too
Jennifer Lopez isn't the only one who's been candid about her divorce — famous ex Ben Affleck has also broached the subject on a few occasions. Fans got a quick peek at Affleck's relationship with Lopez after he discussed the split during a 2025 interview with GQ. While he wasn't quite as candid as the "Hustlers" star, the Oscar winner argued that all of the media hype about their divorce was much ado about nothing. "There's no scandal, no soap opera, no intrigue," Affleck stated firmly. "The truth is, when you talk to somebody, 'Hey, what happened?' Well, there is no, 'This is what happened.' It's just a story about people trying to figure out their lives and relationships in ways that we all sort of normally do."
The former couple appears amicable, if not on the brink of reuniting yet again. Before their split, Lopez starred in "Unstoppable," which Affleck co-produced with longtime BFF Matt Damon. While speaking to Entertainment Tonight about the flick, Affleck had nothing but praise for his ex-wife's work in it. "Jennifer is spectacular," the "Gone Girl" star enthused, per the Miami Herald. When Lopez was told about the compliment on the red carpet, and asked for her input on his skills as a producer, she replied, "I would describe all of the cast and everybody behind the scenes as spectacular and wonderful," (via X, formerly Twitter). Clearly, these two still have a lot of respect for each other, and honestly, we love to see it.