Jennifer Lopez Jokes She Has a PhD in Narcissists at 56

Q: After an album celebrating their romance, how does J.Lo explain her divorce from Ben Affleck being her greatest blessing?

Lopez says the divorce became her greatest blessing because it forced a level of self-awareness, independence and emotional growth she believes she had been missing, even after publicly celebrating the relationship on *This Is Me… Now*. She has described the split from Ben Affleck as “the best thing that ever happened to me,” saying it “changed me” and helped her “grow in a way that I needed to grow” and become “more self-aware.” In interviews, she has said the breakup taught her that happiness cannot come from a partner and that “being in a relationship doesn’t define me.” Instead, she says she learned to find joy within herself. Lopez has framed the divorce as the turning point that led to what she now calls her “good era” and “happy era.” She has said that, for the first time in her life, she feels free and comfortable being on her own, after years of moving from one relationship to another. She also acknowledged that sitting with loneliness, fear and sadness was difficult, but ultimately proved to her that she could be happy by herself. Her broader reflection is that the end of the marriage gave her lessons she needed. She has said the experience made her a “different person” from the year before and helped her embrace life’s painful moments as part of growth. In that sense, she explains the divorce not as a contradiction of the album’s romance, but as the hard event that pushed her into a more grounded and self-sufficient chapter.

2 articles · Updated · Fox News · Jun 12

Jennifer Lopez told Elle UK she could give a TED Talk on “human behavior, emotional intelligence and dysfunctional relationships,” then laughed that she has a “PhD in narcissists.”
The remark came when Lopez and “Office Romance” co-star Brett Goldstein were asked what they could discuss expertly outside acting.
Lopez framed the joke against a personal reset, calling this her “happy era” and saying filming “Office Romance” began after major life changes over the last 2 years.
The 56-year-old finalized her divorce from Ben Affleck in 2025 after the pair reunited in 2021, remarried in 2022 and split again in 2024.
She has said the breakup ultimately helped her grow more self-aware, casting the latest comments as part of a broader post-divorce outlook.