How Personal Heartbreak Helped the Superstar Grow While Bringing a Dream Role to Life in Kiss of the Spider Woman
Jennifer Lopez is opening up about how her divorce from Ben Affleck became a turning point in her personal and professional life. Speaking with CBS News Sunday Morning, the superstar reflected on the tumultuous period surrounding her work on the film adaptation of Kiss of the Spider Woman and how the split ultimately helped her grow.
“It was a really tough time,” Lopez admitted. “Every moment on set, every moment I was doing this role, I was so happy. And then, it was like, back home, it was not great. And it was just like, ‘How do I reconcile this?’”
Lopez was navigating a media frenzy surrounding her relationship with Affleck, who, along with his Artists Equity partner Matt Damon, served as executive producers on the movie musical. The film wrapped production in June 2024, and just two months later, Lopez and Affleck announced their split. Shortly after, she finalized her divorce, marking a decisive personal transition.
Despite the challenges, Lopez described the experience as transformative. “It was the best thing that ever happened to me,” she said. “Because it changed me… It helped me grow in a way that I needed to grow.”
Kiss of the Spider Woman, a reimagining of the 1994 Kander and Ebb Broadway musical, tells the story of political prisoner Valentín, who shares a cell with Molina. Together, they escape the drudgery of their confinement by imagining a magical, musical world. Lopez connected the story’s contrast of darkness and joy to her own life, noting, “The hard times are the lessons, and you have to understand that. Once you do, everything just becomes a little bit lighter. And you can really, really fly.”
The actress added, “Yes. It does [feel like I’m flying]. And I still feel like I want to fly higher. I want to see more. I want to do more things.”
Lopez and Affleck, famously dubbed “Bennifer,” first began dating in 2002 after meeting on the set of Gigli. They became engaged that November but postponed the wedding and eventually split in January 2004. The couple reunited in 2021, married in July 2022, and divorced two years later, with Lopez requesting that Affleck be removed from her name. She described the aftermath as an intense emotional upheaval, saying her “whole f—ing world exploded.”
Affleck has largely stayed private about the split but emphasized in a March interview with GQ that there was no scandal or drama. “It’s just a story about people trying to figure out their lives and relationships in ways that we all normally do,” he said.
Despite the personal challenges, Lopez’s career has flourished. Prior to their split, Affleck appeared in the documentary The Greatest Love Story Never Told, chronicling the making of Lopez’s album This Is Me… Now, which features songs referencing their romance. Now, Lopez describes her role in Kiss of the Spider Woman as a “dream come true.”
The musical adaptation, which hits theaters on October 10, 2025, marks a milestone in Lopez’s career—proving that personal trials can coexist with professional triumph, and that growth often arises from life’s most challenging moments.
