Jennifer Lopez Was ‘Ecstatically Happy’ With Alex Rodriguez, Said Friend Leah Remini
Before Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez reunited, she was in a relationship with Alex Rodriguez. While they first met in 1999, they didn’t begin dating until 2017. Though their relationship did not go the distance, the people close to Lopez said she was very happy with him. Leah Remini, one of Lopez’s best friends, recalled what it was like to watch them together.
Jennifer Lopez seemed deeply in love with Alex Rodriguez
After reconnecting in early 2017, Lopez and Rodriguez made their relationship official by the spring of that year. Rodriguez said they clicked immediately.
“We are very much twins,” he told Vanity Fair. “We’re both Leos; we’re both from New York; we’re both Latino and about 20 other things.”
In 2019, Lopez felt she was in a great spot in her life, at least partially because of Rodriguez.
“I’ve got two amazing kids and a great boyfriend,” she told Harper’s Bazaar. “I don’t have everything figured out, and everything isn’t perfect. But I feel very proud that with all the things I’ve gone through in my personal life, I’m still optimistic and hopeful.”
Remini, who has known Lopez for years, said Lopez could not have been happier with the relationship.
“She’s ecstatically happy, and the family meld that’s happening, Max with his girls [Emme and Rodriguez’s daughters, Natasha, 14, and Ella, 10], the whole thing is amazing.”
Jennifer Lopez and Alex Rodriguez ended their engagement in 2021
Just two years later, though, Lopez and Rodriguez decided to end their engagement.
“We have realized we are better as friends and look forward to remaining so,” they said in a joint statement, per InStyle, adding, “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 is to say is thank you to everyone who has sent kind words and support.”
They appeared to remain friendly after the breakup. A year afterward, Rodriguez spoke about the admiration he still held for Lopez.
Leah Remini has been her good friend for years
Remini and Lopez met at a film premiere when Lopez was with Marc Anthony. Ahead of their meeting, Remini said she hoped Lopez wasn’t as beautiful in real life as she appeared onscreen.
“So, we went to the premiere hoping she was gonna be ugly in real life,” Remini told Entertainment Tonight in 2018. “And then, when I was approaching her, I was like, ‘I hope it’s the lighting. Maybe she just looks good in here,’ and as I got closer I was like, ‘Oh damn, there’s a lot of light right here and she looks really pretty.”
Remini said Lopez proved her expectations wrong every time. This won her over.
“I said, ‘Goddamnit, why the f*** why are you so f***ing pretty?’” Remini recalled. “And she laughed. Then I was like, ‘Ugh, I hope she’s dumb, ya know? I was like, ‘She could be dumb!’ I wanted to find something and I didn’t.”
They became fast friends, though they reportedly had a falling out due to Lopez’s rekindled relationship with Affleck.
