Jennifer Lopez Admits It Was ‘Scary’ to Be Just In: on Her Own This Summer but Learned She’s ‘Capable of Joy All by Myself…. See More

“I had to be like, ‘I need to go off and be on my own. I want to prove to myself that I can do that,’ ” Jennifer Lopez said of her summer

In a new interview conducted with comedian Nikki Glaser for Interview magazine on Sept. 10 and published Wednesday, Oct. 9, Lopez, 55, spoke to her mindset during her time spent abroad and in the Hamptons in the months before she filed for divorce from ex-husband Ben Affleck

“I had to be like, ‘I need to go off and be on my own. I want to prove to myself that I can do that,’ ” the Unstoppable actress said. “Yes, it’s f—— hard,” Lopez said, when Glaser asked her about the experience.

“It feels lonely, unfamiliar, scary. It feels sad. It feels desperate. But 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,” said Lopez, who spent much of her summer apart from Affleck, 52, prior to formally ending their marriage.

Lopez listed April 26, 2024 as the former couple’s date of separation when she filed for divorce in Los Angeles on Aug. 20.

Being in a relationship doesn’t define me. I can’t be looking for happiness in other people,” Lopez added. “I have to have happiness within myself. I used to say I’m a happy person, but was still looking for something for somebody else to fill, and it’s just like, ‘No, I’m actually good.’ ”

Lopez and Affleck, who married in July 2022, do appear to have remained on amicable terms even after Lopez’s August divorce filing. The former couple reunited for a friendly lunch in Los Angeles on Sept. 14 with Lopez’s 16-year-old twins Max and Emme, and Affleck’s children Seraphina, 15, and Samuel, 12.

Lopez shares her twins with ex-husband Marc Anthony, while the Oscar winner shares Seraphina, Samuel and Violet, 18, with ex-wife Jennifer Garner.

During Lopez’s wide-ranging conversation with Glaser, which also touched upon her new role in the wrestling biopic Unstoppable, the actress and singer also told Glaser that she feels comfortable living the single life. “Here’s the thing: There’s no new bar because I’m not looking for anybody,” she said, after toward learning to love herself. “How’s that?”
“You know what? For people who are romantics and love being in relationships and want to grow old with somebody, we think, ‘I have to have that to be whole and happy,’ ” she added. “And you don’t.”