Jennifer Lopez says ‘breakups are not a failure’ as she celebrates 57th birthday

WASHINGTON: Jennifer Lopez marked her 57th birthday by embracing what she calls her “single era”, while reflecting on the lessons she has learned from heartbreak, divorce and some of her most high-profile relationships, including with Ben Affleck and Marc Anthony.

The two-time Grammy nominee turned 57 on July 24 after beginning the celebrations early with a “double birthday sister trip” to Europe alongside her sister, Lynda Lopez, who celebrated her 55th birthday in June. Lopez also attended a dinner party in Paris wearing an eye-catching collection of diamonds.

Speaking candidly in a chat show, Lopez said she now views breakups as opportunities for personal growth rather than failures. “Breakups are not a failure,” she said, adding, “I honestly feel like it’s a launchpad into your next best self. We should have a party when we break up. People should say, ‘You broke up, congratulations.’ Because, one, you made a decision. Two, it was probably the best thing for everybody,” as quoted by E! News.

She also shared her perspective on heartbreak, saying, “If you’re the one who’s being heartbroken, you’re the winner. Because if you go around your life and you’re breaking hearts…you’re the loser,” as quoted by E! News.

Every day is Jennifer Lopez’ birthday. Happy 57th birthday! pic.twitter.com/ynuGi1xo6n

— E! News (@enews) July 24, 2026

Lopez acknowledged she has experienced both sides of a breakup but believes heartbreak has contributed most to her personal development. “I just feel like the biggest growth spurts I’ve had emotionally, mentally, psychologically have always come from a heartbreak, and that’s not just in romantic relationships,” she explained, adding, “That’s in work heartbreaks all of it.”

According to Lopez, difficult moments force deeper self-reflection. “It’s the only time you dig,” she said, adding, “You’re like, ‘What the f–k happened? How do I do this? Why do I keep doing this? Or why didn’t that happen? What could I have done better?’ You change yourself completely.”

The singer and actor, who has been divorced four times, also said on Jimmy Kimmel Live! in May that she wishes she had embraced being single much earlier. “I should’ve done it sooner,” she admitted, adding, “I’ve been doing it all wrong,” as quoted by E! News.

Lopez’s most recent marriage ended in 2024 after she and Ben Affleck separated following two years of marriage.

Reflecting on that chapter during an appearance on CBS Sunday Morning last September while promoting ‘Kiss of the Spider Woman’, a film she starred in and Affleck produced, she said the experience ultimately helped her grow. “You get through it,” Lopez said, adding, “And honestly, I have to say, it was the best thing that ever happened to me.”

She added that the breakup “helped me grow in a way that I needed to grow, become more self-aware. I’m a different person now than I was last year, I think, a year and a half ago,” as quoted by E! News.

Lopez and Affleck rekindled their early-2000s romance in 2021 after her engagement to former baseball player Alex Rodriguez ended. However, in a 2025 appearance on Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen, she made it clear she no longer wanted to publicly discuss her personal relationships.

“You know, I really have nothing to say about my personal life anymore,” she said, adding, “I feel like I’m done with that.”

Before Rodriguez, Lopez was in an on-and-off relationship with dancer Casper Smart. Speaking to People in 2013, she said, “The truth is we don’t know what’s going to happen. We’re loving this moment right now. We make each other happy.”

At the time, she also said Smart had “helped me heal” following the end of her marriage to singer Marc Anthony. Lopez and Anthony married in 2004 and welcomed twins Max and Emme in 2008 before separating in 2011.

Their divorce was finalised in 2014, but Lopez has spoken about working to maintain a positive relationship for the sake of their children.

“When my marriage ended, it was not easy to find forgiveness,” she told in an interview in 2016, adding, “Marc is the father of my children and that’s never going away. So, I have to work to make things right. And that is, by far, the hardest work I do,” as quoted by E! News.

More recently, Lopez shared that both Max and Emme have earned college scholarships and secured admission to their chosen universities. “Both of my kids got into all their colleges and they both got scholarships and they’re going where they want to go,” she said in an interview, adding, “I was like, ‘You did that s–t all by yourself. Like, you had very little help.'”

Before marrying Anthony, Lopez was married to Ojani Noa and Cris Judd and also briefly dated Sean “Diddy” Combs. Looking back in her 2019 It’s My Party Tour Diary series, she downplayed the significance of her first two marriages. “Once was nine months and once was 11 months,” she said, adding, “So, I don’t really count those.”

Reflecting on those early relationships, Lopez added, “I was very young the first two times I tried to get married. I’d say tried to get married”. As per E! News, she also explained that her earlier desire to marry was rooted in wanting companionship.

“It seems like in this life you’re always surrounded by people, you’re never lonely, but it’s very lonely,” she said, adding, “and so, you always want somebody with you, somebody. So I felt like if I got married, I felt like I would always have somebody. But that’s not how life works.” (ANI)