She rewrote the rules on reconciliations in 2021, when – 17 years after first splitting from ex-fiancé Ben Affleck – she announced they’d gotten back together, doubling down on their fairytale ending with a big white wedding the following year. But in the past few weeks, it’s become apparent than Jennifer Lopez’s
dream romance has turned into something of a living nightmare, with insiders saying “the writing is on the wall” for the embittered pair, who – despite their united appearances in public – are said to have been living increasingly separate lives.
But if there’s one thing we know about J-Lo, it’s that she refuses to give up on true love – and according to sources, she’s now taking a second look back at her past to reconsider her future. We’re told the superstar is feeling wistful over the life she had with her former fiancé Alex Rodriguez, whom she dated for four years, before splitting just months before she got back together with Ben and is also yearning for the time they spent together in New York during their relationship. Now, she’s apparently thinking about giving up Hollywood entirely and relocating to the Big Apple on a more permanent basis, with the possibility of running into Alex, and if things really are over with Ben maybe even reconciling with him in the near future, adding to the appeal.
“Even before things were totally south with Ben, Jen was pushing for a full-time move to New York, and she’s now decided to go ahead with that after the split,” says an insider close to the 54 year old, who – despite putting on a show of solidarity with Ben, 51, in public, is already rumoured to be speaking to celebrity divorce lawyers and holding “crisis” meetings with him to discuss splitting their assets.
“She’ll probably keep a place in LA, but she needs to get away from all the noise and scrutiny on the West Coast. There’s nothing to stop her from taking her kids and making a fresh start back in New York. They’ve got plenty of schools to choose from back east and she’s got a great social circle there too. She was in her element when she was dating Alex and spending so much time in the city. When she’s in New York, it’s a small social circle, so no doubt they’ll cross paths.”
There’s no denying that LA has become a stressful place for J-Lo in recent weeks, as she continues to deal with all the intense scrutiny and speculation surrounding her two-year marriage. Last week, it was revealed that she and Ben had put their £47m Beverly Hills mansion – which she’s remained in while he’s been living in a rental property nearby over the past month – up for sale. This comes after ongoing reports that, despite mum-of-two Jen doing everything she could to salvage their relationship, including cancelling her US Summer tour “to be with my children, family and close friends”, Ben wasn’t having any of it and had – for all intents and purposes – fully “checked out”.
They’ve both remained tight-lipped on the status of their marriage, instead going on several seemingly staged public outings to dispel rumours of bad blood between them. But, judging by their tense demeanours – and a very awkward cheek kiss at Ben’s son’s basketball game – their attempts to quell the speculation have been in vain. Taking to Instagram last week, Jen looked excited as she told her followers she was packing for a trip to New York City, suggesting that a cross-country breath of fresh air is just what needs.
As for Alex, he’s currently dating fitness influencer Jaclyn Cordeiro, but who knows what the future might bring? Though he and Jen never made it down the aisle, he certainly seemed to provide her the love and stability she’d been seeking in the past. The pair split their time with their blended families between Florida and New York, and really seemed to be in it for the long haul when they announced their engagement in 2020.
Their break-up in February 2021 – amid reports that he’d been linked to reality star Madison LeCroy – came as a shock, with Jen’s reunion with Ben in July of that year leading many to believe that she’d
always held a candle for her ex, and no other partner had ever come close. Still, there never seemed to be any bad blood between her and Alex – something he doubled down on in an interview with Martha Stewart in 2022.
Speaking about their former romance on the lifestyle guru’s podcast, he paid tribute to Jennifer as “the most talented human being I’ve ever been around” and the “hardest worker”. He added, “Look, we had a great time. But more importantly, we always put the kids front and centre in everything we’d do.”
Now, we’re told, Jen is taking nothing off the table. It’s taken her a while to get her head around her fourth failed marriage, but with the writing truly on the wall, she’s ready to take herself out of her current environment, plunge herself into a new city, and see where the opportunities take her. “Jen has put a brave face on things, but these past few months have been humiliating,” says our source.
“She wants to do everything possible to shake off the sadness of this break-up as quickly as she can, so it makes perfect sense to get away from LA. She misses the East Coast and has for a while – it’s where a lot of her family are and it’s where she feels most at home. As far as Alex goes, a number of her friends are saying she shouldn’t have let him slip through her fingers. She admits they really did work well as a couple; the only problem was that she had this itch that needed to be scratched with Ben. She’s realised what a million jokes if she were to get back together with Alex, but she’s not going to let the public dictate her love love. On her end, at least, the door is very much open.”