(Cover Image Source: Getty Images| Photo by KMazur)
Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony met for the first time in 1998 when Anthony was starring in the Broadway production of The Capeman. The couple exchanged vows in an intimate ceremony in 2004 at Lopez’s Beverly Hills residence. They welcomed twins Emme and Max in 2008, in 2012 Anthony filed for divorce citing ‘irreconcilable differences,’ and the couple’s divorce was finalized by 2014.
In the same year, Lopez released her tell-all memoir, True Love which hinted that she was mentally, emotionally, and verbally abused by Anthony. “In a blur of fear and panic, I looked at Benny [Medina] and my mother and blurted out the words: ‘I don’t think I can be with Marc anymore.’ Then I burst into tears,” Lopez wrote about the exact moment she knew her marriage was over. “It was out. The thing I feared more than anything in the world. I collapsed into their arms and began to sob.”
As per PageSix, in July 2011, the Love Don’t Cost a Thing hitmaker was posing for pictures on a set. On the surface, Lopez’s life appeared to be picture perfect: she had just celebrated her seventh wedding anniversary on June 5th, her twins Max and Emme were doing well, and her single, On the Floor, was topping charts worldwide. However, Lopez was unhappy within and she finally got the chance to confide in her mother.
The couple announced their separation soon after on July 15, 2011, Lopez termed it as the “Hardest. Day. Ever.” She referred to her relationship with Anthony as ‘very Sonny and Cher,’ and said, “I’ve never gotten a black eye or a busted lip, but I’ve been in relationships where I have felt abused in way or another: mentally, emotionally, verbally,” she wrote. “I know what it feels like for your soul to be diminished by the way your loved one is treating you.”
Lopez mentioned that it took her years to realize that both spouses are responsible for abusive relationships. “Because every day that you don’t walk out that door, every day you accept things in your partner and in yourself, is a day that you’re saying it’s okay,” she wrote. “I went through a tremendous low,” Lopez, however, told People in 2022 how the entire ordeal impacted her and what she learned from it. “I wouldn’t change anything [about my past] because it made me who I am.” She said she was able to ‘take a look at what was going on’ and reconsider her relationship philosophy as a result of her breakup.
The Atlas actress explained, “As women, we can give ourselves away sometimes. I was certainly guilty of that for some time. Now I realize I am good on my own, so now I can share my life with somebody.” “I just feel like I went through a real growth spurt as a human being [when I became a mother],” Lopez added. “Having my babies allowed me to realize what real unconditional love was.”
