It’s for real this time: Jennifer Lopez and Alex Rodriguez have officially called off their engagement and broken up, stating that they are “better as friends.”
This news comes one month after reports circulated that the former baseball star and pop legend had ended their five-year relationship (which includes a two-year engagement), but then sources insisted that the two were still together and had simply “hit a rough patch.”
However, this time it’s the real deal. The former power couple released a joint statement to to the Today show on April 15 confirming the breakup.
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“We have realized we are better as friends and look forward to remaining so,” they wrote. “We will continue to work together and support each other on our shared businesses and projects. We wish the best for each other and each other’s children. Out of respect for them, the only other comment we have to say is thank you to everyone who has sent kind words and support.”
Lopez shares 12-year-old twins Max and Emme with ex-husband Marc Anthony, who she was with from 2004 to 2014. Rodriguez has two daughters of his own, Natasha and Ella, with ex-wife Cynthia Scurtis, who he was married to from 2002 to 2008. J.Lo and A-Rod became an item in March 2017.
Even though the pair said in March that they were just trying to "work through some things" — it was difficult for the couple to see each other amid COVID-19 restrictions with Lopez filming Shotgun Wedding in the Dominican Republic and Rodriguez in Miami — fans noticed in a few of Lopez's selfies earlier in the week that her engagement ring was missing from her hand.
Amid rumours of Rodriguez's infidelity and the pandemic (which also caused them to postpone their wedding twice), Lopez told Allure earlier in February that she and her fiancée had been going to couples therapy to address their issues.
In the past, however, Lopez had referred to her partner on several occasions as her "twin soul."
“We’re like mirror images of each other," she told Rodriguez during her MTV Video Music Awards’ Video Vanguard Award acceptance speech in 2018. "You know, my life is sweeter and better with you in it because you make me realize that every day, the sky is not the limit. The universe is infinite, and so is what we can accomplish together with love and trust and understanding. There is so much more to do, to experience, and there is no one I’d rather do it with, baby. You’re my macho, and I love you.”
Refinery29 reached out to Lopez and Rodriguez for additional comment.