Jennifer Lopez & Alex Rodriguez: Meet J-Rod!
A-Rod and and J.Lo. With nicknames like that, how could two superfamous, superrich, super- glamorous people not be destined for one another?
While it's too soon to say if their romance is anything serious, friends of both former Yankees slugger Alex Rodriguez and mega-entertainer Jennifer Lopez say the pair are very much an item-and enjoying every minute of their fledgling romance. Lopez-who ended a flirty dalliance with Canadian rapper Drake in February, reconnected with Rodriguez that same month, and with that a new celebrity couple was born.
A source says Rodriguez has always considered Lopez to be his "dream girl" and is head over heels for the multiplatinum recording artist and star of NBC's Shades of Blue. Days after news of their hookup broke, J-Rod (as they were quickly dubbed) jetted off to the Bahamas together on March 10 for a quick getaway at the ultraexclusive Baker's Bay Golf & Ocean Club. "She enjoyed the weekend and seems very happy," says a source close to Lopez, who posted on Instagram, then swiftly deleted, a cuddly-looking photo during the holiday. Back in Miami, her ex-husband Marc Anthony, who is on good terms with Lopez, babysat their 9-year-old twins, Max and Emme.
For those who worry that Lopez, 47, tends to rush in-she's been married three times-they shouldn't. The couple are taking it slow. "They are still getting to know each other and are having fun," says the Lopez source. Still, the pair have much in common. Both have strong ties to New York City, and "he loves family, and so does she," says a source who knows them both. "For Jennifer, family comes first, and it's especially important to both of them." And neither lacks for ambition or drive. Soon, Lopez will be back to work on upcoming reality competition series World of Dance, as well as the next leg of her ongoing residency show, All I Have, at Planet Hollywood in Las Vegas. But "she's not working at the moment and just enjoying family life," says the source close to Lopez. In addition to speaking gigs and a burgeoning sportscasting career, Rodriguez, 41, is a proud dad of two daughters, Natasha, 12, and Ella, 8, from his marriage to Cynthia Scurtis, 44. Says the Lopez source: "J.Lo really likes that he is a dad."
Rodriguez is "charged" by how "hardworking" Lopez is, says the source who knows them both, while she likes that "he has his own career and life," says the Lopez source. And of course there's a "strong physical attraction," adds the source. "She finds him very sexy and masculine."
Neither is a stranger to dating in the public eye, and the Lopez source says she's "being cautious" given Rodriguez's "ladies' man" reputation. But friends of both say that at heart they are romantics. "J.Lo and A-Rod are each happier in a relationship than playing the field," says the mutual friend. "He is fun and kind, and she loves a strong man who works hard like she does. The partnership is perfect."
-With reporting by Pernilla Cedenheim and Linda Marx
