Jennifer Lopez Said Marc Anthony Taught Her How to Protect Her Private Life After Ben Affleck Hoopla

By the time Jennifer Lopez married Marc Anthony, she’d already been through several public breakups. Her relationship with Ben Affleck was big news after her marriage to Cris Judd ended. Lopez and Anthony would ultimately divorce, as well, but while they were together he taught her a very important tool.

Lopez spoke about her marriage to Anthony when they co-starred in the 2007 film El Cantante. In a 2007 roundtable, Lopez discussed what had changed for her since her relationship with Affleck. It was Anthony who helped her find a way. 

Jennifer Lopez tried acting like she wasn’t famous 

At first, Lopez thought if she didn’t act like she was special, no one would treat her differently. Unfortunately, there’s no avoiding what Jennifer Lopez brings to the table. 

“I didn’t know there was another way to live,” Lopez said. “At that time, I was just like, ‘I’m just going to live my life. I’m not going to let this change me.’ And you’re out there but then all this stuff is happening to you and you’re on the cover of the tabloids every week. It’s like wait a minute, this is not working in the way that I want it to work.”

Marc Anthony had even more experience being famous than Jennifer Lopez

Both Lopez and Anthony were famous singers, Lopez after she made it as an actor while Anthony was a singer first. Anthony shared some of his tips on boundaries. 

He was like, ‘You can be an artist, have your credibility, sell your records, do your things, have your success and still have a life. You’re allowed that. You don’t have to give everything all the time.’ I think he helped me understand that a little bit so it was a real conscious decision for us to kind of go, ‘Wait a minute. Yes, we are singers and actors and we do want to give you all this and share all this, but at the same time, we do have a life that is private and sacred and ours.’ I think we just felt like we needed to establish that for ourselves. This is very sacred to us and we’re going to take care of it. That’s what we did.

Jennifer Lopez, El Cantante press junket, 2007

Reclaiming privacy made it easier to share their work 

Lopez said that establishing their boundaries was a relief. By the time they made a movie together, it was a lot easier for Lopez and Anthony to meet the press together. They knew everyone wanted to know about their lives, but they’d had time away from the invasiveness. 

“I think as people see that, then they’re a little bit more respectful down the line,” Lopez said. “That’s why it’s a little bit easier now for us to go, ’Okay, here’s this project we did together’ or ‘Here we are standing together on this red carpet.’ And they don’t cross the line. They don’t follow us to the house and camp out there, but that took time too. We had to let them know that if you’re going to stand outside our house, you’re not going to make any money. You’re not going to get the picture.”