Jennifer Lopez Shares Candid Comments About Her Divorce from Ben Affleck

Jennifer Lopez is looking back on her divorce from Ben Affleck — and discovering a meaningful silver lining.

In a candid conversation with Lee Cowan on the Sept. 28 episode of CBS News Sunday Morning, the 56-year-old actress and singer called her split from Affleck, 53, and the self-discovery it prompted “the best thing that ever happened to me.”

“Because it changed me,” Lopez added. “It helped me grow in a way that I needed to grow.”

Affleck is serving as an executive producer on Lopez’s latest project, Kiss of the Spider Woman, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January — the same month the former couple finalized their divorce.

Reflecting on balancing work and personal upheaval, the Grammy-nominated star told CBS News Sunday Morning, “It was a really tough time. Every moment on set, every moment I was doing this role, I was so happy, and then it was like, back home, it was not great. And it was just like, oh, you know, ‘How do I reconcile this?’ “

Affleck and Lopez first met in 2002 and began dating. After ending their engagement in 2004, both went on to other relationships and started families.

Lopez married Marc Anthony from 2004 to 2014, and together they share twins Max and Emme. Affleck was married to Jennifer Garner from 2005 to 2018, and they have three children: Violet, Seraphina, and Samuel.

Lopez and Affleck rekindled their romance in 2021, marrying in a private Las Vegas ceremony in July 2022. They later celebrated with friends and family in Georgia a month afterward. The couple ultimately decided to separate, and Lopez filed for divorce exactly two years later, citing irreconcilable differences.

Back in August, a source told PEOPLE that Lopez is thriving and focusing on her career — including promoting her passion project, Kiss of the Spider Woman. “This is the movie she filmed last year in New York when she and Ben were going through a difficult time. She’s come a long way since. She’s very happy and just grateful for her life,” the insider said.

Kiss of the Spider Woman, featuring Diego Luna and Tonatiuh, is adapted from the 1993 Broadway classic, which itself was based on the 1976 novel by Manuel Puig. (It was also adapted into a 1985 film starring William Hurt, Raul Julia, and Sônia Braga.)

The film marks Lopez’s first venture into a movie musical. At a Sundance Q&A, she shared that she had been “waiting for this moment my whole life.”

Lopez also revealed that the project is a tribute to her mother, Guadalupe Rodríguez. “I grew up on musicals. My mom loved musicals, and so I saw every musical you could think of,” Lopez said. “She was a fanatic, and a film fanatic as well, but really loved musicals, cause she loved singing and dancing around the living — and so did I.”

Kiss of the Spider Woman hits theaters on Oct. 10.