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About UsAdvertiseInvestor RelationsJobsNewslettersEditionUSUKAustraliaBrasilCanadaDeutschlandIndiaJapanLatamCalifornia residents can opt out of "sales" of personal data.Do Not Sell My Personal Information © 2022 BuzzFeed, Inc PressRSSPrivacyConsent PreferencesUser TermsAccessibility StatementAd ChoicesHelpContactSitemapBuzzFeed NewsReporting on what you care about. We hold major institutions accountable and expose wrongdoing.BuzzFeed TastySearch, watch, and cook every single Tasty recipe and video ever - all in one place!BuzzFeed GoodfulSelf care and ideas to help you live a healthier, happier life.BuzzFeed Bring MeObsessed with travel? Discover unique things to do, places to eat, and sights to see in the best destinations around the world with Bring Me!BuzzFeed As IsSomething for everyone interested in hair, makeup, style, and body positivity.Celebrity·Posted 5 minutes agoJennifer Lopez Got Candid About Her First Split With Ben Affleck In 2004, And It's Honestly Really Sad
Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck were originally engaged from 2002 to 2004 before ending things.
by Alex GurleyBuzzFeed Contributor
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Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck found their happy ending — but the journey getting there was not easy.
Michael Buckner / WWD via Getty Images
After dating in the early 2000s and getting engaged, the pair ultimately went their separate ways in 2004.
Kevin Winter / Getty Images
It took almost two decades, but Jennifer and Ben found their way back to each other and tied the knot earlier this year.
Rich Fury / WireImage / Getty Images
Looking back on their first split, Jennifer admits it was one of the most painful times of her life and affected her career for the next 18 years.
Gregg Deguire / WireImage / Getty Images
"It was so painful after we broke up," she said during a conversation with Zane Lowe for Apple Music 1.
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@zanelowe / Via instagram.com
She continued, "Once we called off that wedding 20 years ago, it was the biggest heartbreak of my life, and I honestly felt like I was going to die."
Arnaldo Magnani / Getty Images
Jennifer explained that following the split, she felt as though she couldn't make music like she used to and it set her on a "spiral" for years.
Jamie Mccarthy / Getty Images for Tribeca Film Festival
"So I didn’t make music in that way that I did in 2002 until now…it set me on a spiral for the next 18 years where I just couldn’t get it right," Jennifer shared.
Momodu Mansaray / Getty Images
She added, "But now, 20 years later, it does have a happy ending. It has the most, would-never-happen-in-Hollywood ending."
Gotham / GC Images / Getty Images
After rekindling her romance with Ben, she says she "felt so inspired and so overtaken with emotion that [the music] was just pouring out of me."
Stephane Cardinale - Corbis / Corbis via Getty Images
As for her new album, This Is Me...Now, Jennifer says it will cover her journey to finding love again — and hopefully inspire others not to give up.
Frazer Harrison / Getty Images
"I think what the message of [This Is Me...Now] is — if you have, like me at times, lost hope, almost given up, don't," Jennifer said.
Astrid Stawiarz / Getty Images for 20th Century Studios
She added, "True love does exist and some things do last forever and that's real. I want to put that message out into the world and that does take a lot of vulnerability."
Amy Sussman / Getty Images
You can hear all that Jennifer had to say below.
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Apple Music / Via youtube.com
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