Jennifer Lopez Says She Feels "So Lucky and Happy and Proud" of Ben Affleck "Second-Chance" Romance

They're doing it right this time.

Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck
(Image credit: Getty)

Jennifer Lopez has always been an inspiration. She is a multi-talented actress, singer, dancer, producer and entrepreneur with eight studio albums, 125 acting credits and multiple brands—including JLo Beauty—to her name.

Lopez' latest romcom offering, Marry Me costarring Owen Wilson, looks like the perfect Valentine's season treat, and her rekindled romance with Ben Affleck has been making headlines since last spring. Things are, on the whole, pretty damn good for her right now.

"I've never been better," J. Lo tells People in a recent interview. "It's just that we're all in a very beautiful moment." That's awesome!!! I am very happy for her.

Addressing her relationship directly, the star continues, "I feel so lucky and happy and proud to be with him.

"It's a beautiful love story that we got a second chance."

The couple previously dated, and planned a wedding, in the early 2000s. Before rekindling their love in 2021, both of them got married to other people, had children, and divorced. So when they got back together, it obviously was a little anxiety-inducing. They "had a little bit of fear," Lopez tells People. "Before we kind of put [our relationship] out there and we were naïve and it got a little trampled."

But they know how to do it right this time around. "We both were like, 'Wow, we're so happy and we don't want any of that to come into play again,'" the star continues. "We're older now, we're smarter, we have more experience, we're at different places in our lives, we have kids now, and we have to be very conscious of those things. We're so protective because it is such a beautiful time for all of us."

And it sounds like a beautiful time, too, the way she talks about it. "I just feel very happy and lucky to be in a relationship that's happy and loving, and I want to do everything I can to protect that and keep it safe. It deserves that, it really does. ... We hold it sacred," Lopez explains.

"It's beautiful the way it feels very different than it was years ago. ... There's more of an appreciation and a celebration for it, which is nice," she says. "When you find somebody and you really, really love them and you get a second chance at that? That is a really rare, precious, beautiful thing and we don't take it for granted."

Love is real, y'all.

Iris Goldsztajn
Morning Editor

Iris Goldsztajn is a London-based journalist, editor and author. She is the morning editor at Marie Claire, and her work has appeared in the likes of InStyle, Cosmopolitan, Bustle and Shape. Iris writes about everything from celebrity news and relationship advice to the pitfalls of diet culture and the joys of exercise. She has many opinions on Harry Styles, and can typically be found eating her body weight in cheap chocolate.