Jennifer Lopez says she feels lucky to have a second chance with Ben Affleck

The couple, who first dated from 2002 to 2004, are celebrating their romance this time around

(Getty Images)

Jennifer Lopez is feeling very lucky. The 52-year-old star opened up to People on Tuesday about her rekindled romance with former fiancé Ben Affleck. “It’s a beautiful love story that we got a second chance,” Lopez said.

Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez rocked the world last June when the couple confirmed rumours they were dating once again, after being pictured sharing a kiss while on holiday in Malibu. Lopez and Affleck first dated from 2002 to 2004, but called off their engagement. Just months before their rekindled romance, Lopez had broken off her engagement from Alex Rodriguez, while Affleck had recently split from his girlfriend, Ana de Armas.

The Marry Me star expressed to People that they both had a little bit of fear about taking their new relationship public, acknowledging the media frenzy that surrounded them and ultimately led to their breakup. But this time, it’s different. “We both were like, ‘Wow, we’re so happy and we don’t want any of that to come into play again,’” Lopez said. “We’re older now, we’re smarter, we have more experience, we’re at different places in our lives, we have kids now, and we have to be very conscious of those things. We’re so protective because it is such a beautiful time for all of us.”

Ben Affleck made rare comments about his relationship with Lopez in a chat last week with the Los Angeles Times. Talking about how having a social media presence helps boosts star’s careers, the Tender Bar actor said, “Getting to experience Jennifer Lopez’s life now and seeing the degree to which a massive social media presence – how that’s valued, how that’s perceived by the people who are willing to invest a bunch of money in what you’re doing – is really striking.”

In December, 49-year-old Affleck shared in an episode of The Howard Stern Show that he felt “trapped” in his marriage to Jennifer Garner, which was “part of why” he started drinking. “We had a marriage that didn’t work,” Affleck said. “This happens. It was somebody I love and respect but to whom I shouldn’t be married any longer.”

Soon after, reports circulated that Lopez was angry with the Gone Girl actor for making such controversial comments, but Lopez denied those rumours to People, saying that the story was “simply not true” as “it is not how I feel”.

Nearly two decades later since the end of their engagement, Lopez and Affleck treasure their second chance at love. The two now have more of an appreciation and a celebration for their relationship, Lopez said, and she wants to do everything she can to protect that. “When you find somebody and you really, really love them and you get a second chance at that?” Lopez said, “That is a really rare, precious, beautiful thing and we don’t take it for granted."

As far as marriage goes, Lopez is open to tying the knot again. During a new interview with Today, the 52-year-old actor spoke candidly about her previous marriages while promoting her upcoming Valentine’s Day film, Marry Me. When asked whether she would ever consider getting married for a fourth time, the actor firmly answered 100 per cent. As far as what her future holds with Ben Affleck, Lopez simply wants her future to be full of love and happiness, she told People. “I think everybody just wants to be happy, with somebody to go on the journey with and grow old with, and I feel good about that right now," she said.