Robin L Marshall/Getty; Eric Charbonneau/Amazon MGM Studios via Getty Jennifer Lopezbelieves that her split withBen Affleckhas changed her for the better. Lopez got candid about how the breakup impacted her work on filmKiss of the Spider Womanwhile speaking toCBS News Sunday Morningcorrespondent Lee Cowa. "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?'" Jon Kopaloff/WireImage As Lopez prepared to celebrate the film in the public eye, she was also weathering a media storm over her heavily scrutinized relationship with Affleck. Making matters more complicated, her now ex-husband, Affleck, and his Artists Equity partner Matt Damon serve as executive producers on the movie musical. Publicly, it was difficult to fully sever one from the other:Kiss of the Spider Womanwrapped production in June 2024, and two months later, the coupleannounced their split. Weeks afterLopez teared up onstageat the film's Sundance Film Festival world premiere, shefinalized her divorcefrom Affleck. How did it feel for her dream role to coincide with the breakup? "It was the best thing that ever happened to me," Lopez told the outlet. "Because it changed me." She then amended, "It didn't change me — it helped me grow in a way that I needed to grow." A reimagining of the 1994 Kander and Ebb Broadway musical,the film sees a political prisoner named Valentín share a cell with a man named Molina. They soon form an unlikely bond and escape their drudgery by envisioning a wondrous, musical tale. Connecting the contrast of darkness and joy to her own experience, Lopez noted, "The hard times are the lessons, and you have to understand that. You have to understand that. And once you do, everything just becomes a little bit lighter. And you can really, really fly." Cowan asked, "Does it feel like you're flying now?" "Yes. It does," she replied. "And I still feel like I want to fly higher. I want to see more. I want to do more things." Roadside Attractions Lopez and Affleck — affectionately known as Bennifer — originally got together in 2002, after meeting on the set of their movieGigli. They were engaged by November of that year, however, the wedding was postponed and in January 2004, they announced their split. But, after marrying and divorcing others in the intervening years, the pair coupled up again in 2021. They married in July 2022, but ended their relationship just two years later when Lopezfiled for divorceand asked that Affleck be dropped from her name. The superstar has since stated that her "whole f---ing world exploded" in the wake of their split. Affleck has largely kept quiet about the breakup, but did speak up toshut down rumorsof a messy, dramatic split. Want more movie news? Sign up forEntertainment Weekly's free newsletterto get the latest trailers, celebrity interviews, film reviews, and more. Taylor Hill/Getty "There's no scandal, no soap opera, no intrigue," Affleck toldGQin March. "The truth is, when you talk to somebody, 'Hey, what happened?' Well, there is no: 'This is what happened.' It's just a story about people trying to figure out their lives and relationships in ways that we all sort of normally do. "There is no 'So-and-so did this' or 'This was the big event.'" Prior to their split, the former couple teamed up creatively, with Affleck appearing inThe Greatest Love Story Never Told, a documentary about the making of Lopez' album,This Is Me… Now, which includesseveral songs referencing her romance with Affleck. As for her role in the upcoming musical, Lopez has described the film as a "dream come true." Kiss of the Spider Womanhits theaters Oct. 10. Read the original article onEntertainment Weekly
