Is Jennifer Lopez Hinting Retirement?

Fans are wondering if Jennifer Lopez might be planning to retire soon, after some recent public comments the beloved entertainer made. According to Good Housekeeping, Lopez shared some life updates in a recent On the JLo newsletter, seemingly indicating that she might be taking a step back to focus more on her “personal life” and family, following her marriage to Ben Affleck. “It’s super important for me, especially now, to prioritize my personal life and not just my work life,” the singer wrote.

“When I had kids 14 years ago was when I started thinking differently. Things changed for me. Little by little, my perspective has turned into a healthier work-life balance,” Lopez added. Her focus on motherhood is clear, but it’s also obvious that her new marriage is part of the shift in her direction. “Now that I’m getting married, it’s about my family first and foremost,” she confessed. “It’s about having enough time to be the woman, the mother, the partner and the person that I need to be for the important people in my life. It must be a very special project if it’s going to take time away from my family.”

Lopez and Affleck first dated in the early 2000s, after meeting on the set of the 2001 film Gigli. Dubbed “Bennifer,” the couple’s relationship was the subject of countless headlines and heavy media scrutiny, which led to paparazzi and tabloid reporters following them around quite frequently. They split up in 2004, with Lopez later explaining that the constant press coverage was a big part of why Affleck wasn’t comfortable continuing their relationship. 

After their split, Lopez went on to marry and have two children with singer Marc Anthony. She later split from Anthony in 2011, and then began an on-off relationship with Casper Smart, her former backup dancer. Affleck also tied the knot, marrying actress Jennifer Garner. The couple shares two daughters and one son. In 2018, Garner and Affleck split, with the Gone Girl star being romantically linked to several different women over the past few years, including Ana de Armas, his co-star in the Hulu thriller film, Deep Water.

Lopez began dating former New York Yankees player Alex Rodriguez in 2017. The pair became engaged in 2019, but their nuptials were postponed twice. In April 2021, the now-former couple announced they had split. Lopez and Affleck rekindled their romance in the wake of her split from Rodriguez, dating for a little over a year before saying their “I Do’s” in Las Vegas on July 16, and then later holding a larger ceremony with family and friends in Georgia.