Jennifer Lopez is stepping into a new chapter of her life, and she’s doing it on her own terms. In a candid conversation with comedian Nikki Glaser for Interview magazine, Lopez, 55, opened up about the personal growth she’s experienced after her high-profile split from actor Ben Affleck, as well as her excitement for her latest film Unstoppable.
Lopez, who finalized her divorce from Affleck in August, reflected on her journey of self-discovery, noting that it’s been a “lifelong process” to understand herself and what she wants out of life. During the interview, published on October 9, Lopez shared that even after years of self-reflection, life continues to challenge her in unexpected ways.
“There’s no arrival point,” she said. “It’s either growing or dying, and I don’t want to do the dying part.”
Lopez also spoke openly about being single again, explaining how embracing her independence has been both empowering and daunting. “I’m excited to be on my own,” she said. “I’m not looking for anybody. Everything I’ve done over the past 25, 30 years has been in these different challenging situations… what if I’m just free?”
While the break from Affleck was difficult, Lopez found a bright spot in her professional life. She proudly premiered Unstoppable at the Toronto International Film Festival in September, where the movie received a standing ovation. “I felt really good,” Lopez said of the moment. “The movie’s really beautiful… it’s one of those great inspirational stories that I think the world needs right now.”
The film, based on a true story, sees Lopez portraying Judy Robles, the mother of Anthony Robles, an NCAA wrestling champion born with one leg. Produced by Affleck and Matt Damon’s company, Artists Equity, Unstoppable has already sparked conversations about triumph and resilience—values that Lopez herself holds dear.
During her interview with Glaser, Lopez delved deeper into the importance of learning to “be good on your own.” While she believed she had already mastered that lesson earlier in life, this past year proved she still had more to learn.
“When you get to a point where you think that you’ve learned the lessons, and then it blows up in your face again, you realize, ‘Okay, I haven’t,’” Lopez admitted. “I would say, never stop looking inward, because it’s so easy to blame everybody else.”
Lopez emphasized that true happiness comes from within, not from relationships. “You have to be healthy. You have to be complete, if you want something that’s more complete,” she said. “I thought I learned that, but I didn’t. This summer, I had to be like, ‘I need to go off and be on my own. I want to prove to myself that I can do that.’”
Despite the challenges, Lopez is clear-eyed about the road ahead. “It was f—ing hard,” she admitted. “It feels lonely, unfamiliar, scary. It feels sad. It feels desperate. But when you sit in those feelings and go, ‘These things are not going to kill me,’ it’s like actually, I am capable of joy and happiness all by myself.”
For Lopez, this moment represents a new beginning—one where she’s thriving, not just as an actress, singer, and producer, but as a woman standing confidently in her independence. As she navigates this chapter, Lopez reminds herself and her fans that being alone doesn’t mean being incomplete.
“Being in a relationship doesn’t define me,” she concluded. And with a flourishing career and a renewed sense of self, Jennifer Lopez is proving exactly that.
