Jennifer Lopez gushed about being single while addressing her and Ben Affleck’s divorce for the first time.
Lopez, 55 explained to Interview magazine Wednesday why she is “excited” to be by herself, two years after she and the actor, 52, tied the knot.
“Everything that I’ve done over the past 25, 30 years, being in these different challenging situations, what can I f–king do when it’s just me flying on my own … what if I’m just free?” she asked.
While admitting to Nikki Glaser that the “new territory” is “lonely, unfamiliar, scary,” “sad” and “desperate,” the Grammy nominee emphasized that “being in a relationship doesn’t define” her.
“When you sit in those feelings and go, ‘These things are not going to kill me,’ it’s like, ‘Actually, I am capable of joy and happiness all by myself,’” she noted.
“I can’t be looking for happiness in other people,” she continued. “I have to have happiness within myself.”
Lopez acknowledged that she is a “romantic” who “love[s] being in relationships and want[s] to grow old with somebody.”
However, she said, “We think, ‘I have to have that to be whole and happy.’ And you don’t.”
The actress was previously married to Ojani Noa, Cris Judd and Marc Anthony before eloping with Affleck in Las Vegas in July 2022.
She “lovingly” called her past self a “dumb bitch” and a “motherf–ker” for wanting a partner.
Lopez now believes her relationship with herself is the “most important thing,” adding, “I think we tend to get away from [that] at times, when you’re wrapped up with other people.”
