J. Lo calls herself an 'expert' on weddings. A look back at her 4 marriages and 2 engagements

Jennifer Lopez may be lucky in love with Ben Affleck, but she's also had her fair share of heartbreak, and she isn't afraid to joke about her romantic endeavors.

While walking the red carpet at the 2024 Golden Globes, the actor joked about her four marriages during an interview with Variety.

“I am somewhat of an expert, you could say,” she said. “Not so much on marriage but on weddings.”

Lopez's marriages are even the focus of her latest music video for her song "Can't Get Enough."

“I think it might surprise some people,” she said on the red carpet and referred to the video as a “meta story about the journey that it takes to get from heartbreak back to love.”

Curious to learn more about Lopez's past relationships and her current marriage to Affleck? Here's a look back at her love life.

Ojani Noa (1997-1998)

Lopez’s first marriage was her shortest. The singer tied the knot with Ojani Noa, then a waiter, in 1997; they were married for less than a year.

Per the Associated Press, the exes have gone toe-to-toe in several legal battles in the years following their divorce.

Ten years later, in a video for her "It's My Party" tour, Lopez said that she doesn't "really count" her first two marriages since they were short.

“I was very young the first two times I tried to get married. I would say try to get married,” she said. “It seems like in this life, you’re always surrounded by people, you’re never lonely, but it’s very lonely. So you always want somebody with you. Somebody. And so, I felt like if I got married I felt like I would always have somebody, but that’s not how life works.

“That’s not how it goes. It’s a bad reason to get married, not the right reason, it’s the wrong one. The right one is when you find somebody who really makes you better," she continued.

Cris Judd (2001-2003)

When Lopez met dancer Cris Judd on the set of her "Love Don't Cost a Thing" music video, she felt a connection. They tied the knot in 2001. In 2002, Lopez filed for divorce, citing “irreconcilable differences,” per People. The divorce was finalized the following year.

Judd later told Oprah Winfrey that it was love at first sight for him.

"So, when Jennifer walks in, I shake her hand and we kinda look at each other — and in my head, I’m like, ‘Oh my God, I’m going to marry this woman,’" he said during an episode of “Where Are They Now?”

During an Us Weekly interview in 2014, Judd opened up about the breakup, saying their relationship "just didn't work out." He added that it was "tough to be in (the) limelight."

"You kind of sign up for that, you know?" he said. "You kind of have to take it and accept it and embrace it. Once you stop fighting it, it smoothes itself over. If you try to keep that privacy, it drives you nuts and that’s why people break.”

Marc Anthony (2004-2014)

Lopez and fellow singer Marc Anthony were married between 2004 and 2014 and have two children together.

The couple first met in 1998 when Anthony was part of the Broadway show “The Capeman.” Lopez recalled the encounter in her memoir “True Love” and said Anthony predicted their marriage.

“One day you’re going to be my wife,” he said, per her book.

As Anthony predicted, they married in 2004. Three years later, Lopez announced that she was pregnant. In 2008, the happy couple welcomed twins: a son named Max and a daughter named Emme.

The couple announced their breakup in the summer of 2011. Lopez opened up about their split during an interview with Vanity Fair.

“Sometimes it doesn’t work — and that’s sad. But I remain an eternal optimist about love. I believe in love,” she said. “It’s still my biggest dream. I am positive — determined to move forward with my life, bring up my babies, and do the best job I can as a mother, entertainer, and person. I now look forward to new challenges. I feel strong.”

In April 2012, Anthony officially filed for divorce from Lopez, citing “irreconcilable differences.” Per People, the divorce was finalized in 2014.

Despite their split, the singers appeared to remain on cordial terms. Case in point? They performed together and even shared a kiss at the 17th annual Latin Grammy Awards in 2016, two years after their divorce was finalized.

While talking about her ex during the show, Lopez offered the following words about Anthony: “Marc is a living legend. He is a magical and pure artist giving away classics that will stay forever. He will always be many things in my life.”

The friendly exes also teamed up the following year for a benefit concert with her then boyfriend, Alex Rodriguez.

During a 2016 interview with W magazine, Lopez reflected on the end of her marriage to Anthony and said, “it was not easy to find forgiveness.”

“It wasn’t the dream that I had hoped for, and it would have been easier to fan the flames of resentment, disappointment and anger. But Marc is the father of my children, and that’s never going away. So, I have to work to make things right. And that is, by far, the hardest work I do,” she said.

Since their split, Lopez and Anthony have collaborated professionally on multiple occasions. Lopez has also posted many social media shout-outs to her ex on Father’s Day over the years.

Alex Rodriguez (2017-2021)

After two years of dating, Lopez got engaged to baseball superstar Alex Rodriguez in 2019.

“When Alex came into my life I was like ‘Oh I found a partner who can really hang with me.’ And he also wants to grow and evolve,” Lopez previously told TODAY co-anchor Hoda Kodb during 2018 TODAY visit.

Though she said she didn't know if he was "the one" right away during a 2019 visit to SiriusXM Hits 1’s Morning Mashup.

“I was like, ‘I don’t know, maybe yes, maybe no. I really love him, I like him,’” she said. “Everything just seemed almost too perfect too soon — so it almost made me a little like, ‘Hey wait, what’s happening here? Let me just wait a second.’”

When Hoda asked in May 2020 about their wedding plans, Lopez said, “Nobody knows," due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Nobody knows because, really, there’s no planning right now,” she explained. “You just have to kind of wait and see how this all plays out, and it’s disappointing on one level."

For four years, Lopez and Rodriguez had a blended family with the four children: Lopez's twins with Anthony, and Rodriguez's daughters with ex wife Cynthia Scurtis.

They called off their engagement in 2021, telling TODAY, "We have realized we are better as friends and look forward to remaining so. We will continue to work together and support each other on our shared businesses and projects. We wish the best for each other and one another’s children. Out of respect for them, the only other comment we have to say is thank you to everyone who has sent kind words and support."

Ben Affleck (2022-present)

Affleck and Lopez share quite a history. They first crossed paths in 2002 while filming the movie “Gigli” and a whirlwind romance followed, with the couple getting engaged in November 2002.

After months of intense media attention, the lovebirds postponed their wedding in 2003 and broke up in 2004. Lopez described the breakup as her "first big heartbreak" during a 2014 appearance on TODAY.

After going their separate ways, Affleck and Lopez went on to marry other people (Jennifer Garner and Marc Anthony, respectively) and welcomed several children (three for him, two for her) each, but love blossomed once again following the end of these marriages.

Affleck and Lopez reconnected in 2021 and it's a reunion that the singer's mother, Guadalupe Rodríguez, predicted many years beforehand. While Lopez was appearing on TODAY in May 2023, Rodríguez sat nearby and told Hoda Kotb that she knew her daughter was meant to be with Affleck.

“I knew that you would always get back together because I prayed for 20 years,” she said.

In April 2022, the lovebirds announced their engagement and tied the knot in July 2022. Later that year, the singer explained her decision to change her legal last name to Affleck (she still uses the last name Lopez professionally).

“People are still going to call me Jennifer Lopez. But my legal name will be Mrs. Affleck because we’re joined together. We’re husband and wife. I’m proud of that," she said in an interview with Vogue.

Several months after their wedding, Lopez described their reception as a “divinely full-circle” moment in her newsletter.

When the couple got married, they officially blended their two families together, and Lopez opened up about the experience in November 2022 during an interview with Vogue.

“What I hope to cultivate with our family is that his kids have a new ally in me and my kids have a new ally in him, someone who really loves and cares about them but can have a different perspective and help me see things that I can’t see with my kids because I’m so emotionally tied up,” she said.

This article was originally published on TODAY.com