This Is The J.Lo & A-Rod Relationship Timeline You’re Looking For

Once in a while, a celebrity couple comes along that makes us all go “ooh” and “yeah, that makes sense.” Jennifer Lopez and Alex Rodriguez, two entertainment powerhouses in their own right — she, an award-winning triple threat with a clothing line, TV hosting gigs, numerous charities under her belt, and an imminent Super Bowl performance, and he, a three-time MLB MVP who supports many charitable causes — are two such people. When they were first spotted stepping out together in the spring of 2017, fans everywhere excitedly heralded the newly minted J-Rod as the celebrity couple of the decade.

The pair confirmed they were in their relationship for the long haul in March 2019, when they announced their engagement. By that point, Lopez had already released “El Anillo” almost a full year earlier. “El Anillo” translates in English to “The Ring.”

“We’re really happy,” Lopez told People following the big engagement announcement. “We have [an] appreciation for where we are in our lives today, and that’s what we’re enjoying the most,” Rodriguez added.

Here, we take a look back at the superstar couple’s relationship — how they got to this place of #CoupleGoals — and where they might be headed toward in due time, if and when they do need something just a little bit more.

As the story goes, Lopez and Rodriguez actually met many years ago, back in May 2005, at a Yankees game (both were married to their respective spouses at the time). More than a decade later, both of them were single; Lopez happened to spot Rodriguez waiting outside a Beverly Hills restaurant in early 2017 and tapped him on the shoulder. He called her later that night to ask her out to dinner. By May 2017, they were making their red carpet debut at the Met Gala.

Now that their romance was no longer a secret, Lopez and Rodriguez embarked on what felt almost like an international tour showcasing their love. First stop, Paris, where the couple was snapped strolling along the river, holding hands, eating ice cream, and visiting the Louvre museum together.

After Hurricane Maria devastated parts of the Caribbean and central America, Lopez and Rodriguez pulled together and helmed a benefit concert and telethon: One Voice: Somos Live. The event was a resounding success, raising money for areas affected by the storm and showing the world just how impactful this power couple could be.

Adding currency to their already too swoon-worthy relationship, the couple next appear on the cover of Vanity Fair together in October and give their first joint interview, during which they both admit that they feel they’ve found their “twin” in each other. “We’re very much twins,” Rodriguez said in the interview. “We’re both Leos; we’re both from New York; we’re both Latino and about 20 other things.” Agreed Lopez: “I understand him in a way that I don’t think anyone else could, and he understands me in a way that no one else could ever.”

The singer excitedly shared something personal with fans just as she was about to launch into her newly released single, “Us,” at a pre-Super Bowl show. “We’ve been together for one year today,” she told the gathered crowd. “I don’t want to get all mushy or anything but baby this song’s for you. I love you.”

Both Lopez and Rodriguez have excitedly posted photos of their kids getting along and hanging out together at home and on vacation, but with the development of their relationship, the photos came more frequently, much to the delight of fans rooting for the pair. Lopez shares twins Max and Emme with her ex-husband, Marc Anthony, while Rodriguez has two daughters, Ella and Natasha.

One of the lasting appeals of the superstar couple is how supportive they are of each other’s individual careers, and at the MTV VMAs in August 2018, A-Rod proved to be Lopez’s No.1 fan, sharing behind-the-scenes footage on his social media platforms and getting photographed snapping his own fanboy pictures of Lopez looking fly on the red carpet.

“Both Alex and I are Latino. We are both self-made,” she told Redbook UK in 2019. “He was always the hardest working baseball player that was … me, the same. We have that in common. We have the same work ethic. We also appreciate and know that coming from nothing, we always want to try to help and give back and teach our kids that.” Her words bode well for a future together, though what that future can and will look like is still anybody’s guess.

Both halves of the couple happily shared their engagement news on Instagram. Lopez posted a photo of her new fiancé holding her hand — now accented with a 16-carat diamond ring — and captioned the image with eight hearts. Rodriguez uploaded a shot of himself mid-proposal on a beach in the Bahamas, writing, “Locking it down,” and adding the hashtag “Future Mrs. Rodriguez.”

The busy couple then found time to celebrate their new relationship status in September 2019 with a Los Angeles-set engagement party.