Jennifer Lopez admits there were initial reservations within her team regarding the decision to chronicle her relationship with her now husband, Ben Affleck, in her upcoming album and companion film, This Is Me… Now.
“As artists, we have to follow our heart, and this is me following my heart and doing something that maybe everybody didn’t think was the best idea, but I had to do it,” Lopez tells Variety.
Despite reservations about putting her and Affleck’s life under the spotlight, Lopez expresses confidence in the project, and acknowledges the past media scrutiny that caused both her and Affleck to develop “PTSD.”
Michael Kovac/Getty Images
“We’re older now. We’re wiser. We also know what’s important, what’s really important in life, and it’s not so much what other people think. It’s about being true to who you are,” 54-year-old Lopez remarks.
Responding to questions about the film’s nature, Lopez describes it as a “musical experience.”
“You have to see it and you’ll have to experience it to understand it,” she explains. “That’s why I call it a ‘musical experience.’ Because there’s music, you can see it, you can hear it, and then you’ll get to live it.”
Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic
A recent teaser for the film unveiled a poignant clip of Lopez reminiscing, “When I was a little girl, when someone asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up, my answer was always… in love.”
The news comes almost a year after Lopez expressed her desire to collaborate with 51-year-old Affleck again during the premiere of her rom-com, Shotgun Wedding. The couple, known as “Bennifer,” initially dated in the early 2000s, with their relationship ending after canceling their wedding in 2003. The romance was reignited in 2021, leading to a surprise wedding in Las Vegas in 2022.
MICHAEL TRAN/AFP via Getty Images
Lopez and Affleck recently graced the red carpet together on Dec. 5 in Hollywood, where Lopez was honored at Elle’s Women in Hollywood celebration.
Scheduled for release on Feb. 16, This Is Me… Now commemorates the 20th anniversary of her 2002 album, This Is Me…Then. The companion short film, directed by Dave Meyers, will be simultaneously released by Amazon MGM Studios.
RELATED CONTENT: