Before Jennifer Lopez entered a joyful marriage with Ben Affleck , she found herself in a romantic relationship with her longtime friend Marc Anthony. As per People , Lopez and Anthony crossed paths during his Broadway performance in the musical The Capeman , which concluded its run on March 28, 1998. In that very year, Lopez finalized her divorce from her first husband, Ojani Noa. In her memoir, True Love , Lopez recalled Anthony’s initial words to her as follows: “One day you’re going to be my wife.”
Jennifer and Marc tied the knot, and soon welcomed their twins, Max and Emme. They stayed married for almost a decade. However, shortly after openly discussing the complexity of their seemingly perfect marriage, Jennifer and Marc parted ways. They continued co-parenting their children and maintained a seemingly strong friendship, even collaborating on music projects. However, perhaps Marc’s comment at that time hinted that their relationship might not have a happy ending.
As per The Things , the timing of Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony’s wedding raised many questions at the time. Before marrying Marc, Jennifer had wed and subsequently divorced her former backup dancer, Cris Judd. Their marriage began in 2001 and appeared to have ended well before the legal divorce, which was officially finalized in 2003, primarily because JLo began dating Ben Affleck in “mid-2002.” Jennifer and Ben’s engagement came to an end in January 2004. In June of the same year, she walked down the aisle with her long-time friend Marc Anthony, who had also recently concluded his divorce just days before. The enigmatic timing wasn’t the sole reason for people’s curiosity regarding the true nature of Jennifer and Marc’s marriage.
In interviews, Jennifer didn’t necessarily portray her marriage in the most glowing light. While Marc reportedly treated her well, Jennifer dropped hints that he might not have been the true love of her life. During a conversation with Vanity Fair , she mentioned that she had confidence that Marc would always be there for her if she needed him (though it’s unclear how his former wife, Dayanara Torres, might have felt about that). Jennifer openly acknowledged that “the world stopped when it came to me.” She spoke about Marc’s caring nature and how he made her feel “secure.” When the interviewer inquired whether this sense of security was beneficial for a marriage, Jennifer took a moment to reflect. Eventually, she conceded that feeling “insecure” would not have been good for her, clarifying that her marriage to Marc “fulfilled some of [her] dreams.”
In July 2011, Anthony and Lopez made public their decision to separate. A source disclosed to People that the couple had chosen to part ways “after months of nonstop arguing” and “Marc and Jennifer decided it’s best to go their separate ways for the sake of their two kids.” After the separation was revealed, another source informed People that Lopez had shifted her focus to her professional pursuits. “For her, it’s back to business, She is all about her career. She’s excited to move on.”