Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony's Relationship Timeline

Singers Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony got married in 2004, separated in 2011 and finalized their divorce in 2014. The former couple share two children and remain amicable, even collaborating on music after divorcing. Here is a complete timeline of their relationship

01 of 27

1998: Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony meet

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Lopez and Anthony met while he was performing on Broadway in the musical The Capeman, which closed on March 28, 1998. That same year, Lopez divorced her first husband, Ojani Noa. In Lopez's memoir, True Love, she wrote that Anthony's first words to her were, "One day you're going to be my wife."

The two reportedly dated briefly around this time, but nothing serious came of it.

02 of 27

1999: Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony collaborate on "No Me Ames"

Lopez and Anthony collaborated for the first time on the song "No Me Ames" from Lopez's 1999 debut album On the 6. The track was released as the B-side to Lopez's No. 1 hit "If You Had My Love." "No Me Ames" hit No. 1 on Billboard's Hot Latin Songs. Lopez and Anthony also appeared together in the song's music video.

"He [Anthony] came by the studio, and we played him some of the stuff we were doing," Lopez recalled in Billboard's 20th anniversary retrospective for On the 6. "He was like, 'Okay, okay,' and I was such a huge fan of his music in Spanish, and I was like, 'Maybe we should do something in Spanish. I just love your music.' He was like, 'Let me think about it.'"

Lopez continued, "He left the studio, and literally five minutes after he left, he called and said, 'I have the song for us. It's an old Italian song called 'Non Amarmi' — and we can translate it into Spanish, do it as a ballad and do it as a salsa record.'"

03 of 27

2000-2004: Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony marry other people

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Anthony married former Miss Universe Dayanara Torres in Las Vegas in May 2000, two years after being romantically linked to Lopez. During their marriage, they had two sons — Ryan and Cristian. PEOPLE confirmed the pair split in July 2002 before reconciling that same year in late October. Torres and Anthony divorced in 2004.

Four years after casually dating Anthony, Lopez met actor Ben Affleck in 2002 on the set of their movie Gigli. At the time, Lopez was married to her second husband, Cris Judd, but Lopez filed for divorce from Judd in July 2002. Shortly after her split from Judd, Lopez and Affleck started dating and went public with their relationship.

In a November 2002 interview with Diane Sawyer, Lopez revealed she and Affleck were engaged. The pair's romance was thoroughly documented, but they called off their wedding just hours before they were going to walk down the aisle. In January 2004, Lopez and Affleck officially split.

04 of 27

2004: Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony reunite

In early 2004, Lopez and Anthony started dating again but kept their relationship very low-profile. However, there were rumors that the two would be getting married after Anthony's divorce from Torres was finalized on June 1.

"They're engaged unofficially," a source told PEOPLE. "There's talk of a wedding."

When inquiring about a possible date, the source said a wedding could happen "within six months."

"All the heartache and pain of my recent breakup couldn't have been for nothing, could it?" Lopez wrote about her relationship with Anthony in her 2014 book, True Love. "Maybe I had to go through the bad so I could end up with the person I was meant to be with all along."

05 of 27

June 5, 2004: Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony get married

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Anthony and Lopez tied the knot in a secret ceremony in June 2004 at Lopez's home in Beverly Hills. They dated for just six months before getting married. Though they didn't announce anything, the bands on their respective left ring fingers made the news public for them.

Lopez later told PEOPLE, "When you find that person who doesn't run when things get hard – I think that's where Marc proved to me that he was more of a man than anything I had experienced."

06 of 27

February 13, 2005: Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony perform at the Grammy Awards

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TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP/Getty Images

Lopez and Anthony attended the 2005 Grammy Awards together and performed live for the first time as a married couple.

The pair performed their duet "Escapemonos" from his album Amar Sin Mentiras.

07 of 27

June 11, 2016: Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony lead the N.Y.C. Puerto Rican Day Parade

Both Lopez and Anthony are native New Yorkers and of Puerto Rican descent. The couple showed their pride by leading New York City's annual Puerto Rican Day Parade on June 11, 2006.

"The Puerto Rican parade has been a long-standing tradition in my life," Anthony told the crowd. "It was always an event that I looked forward to every single year."

08 of 27

September 12, 2006: Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony star in 'El Cantante' together

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Trae Patton/NBCU Photo Bank/Getty

Lopez and Anthony starred together in the film El Cantante, which debuted at the 2006 Toronto International Film Festival. The movie was released in theaters in August 2007.

PEOPLE wrote of the film, "It's actually redeemed by the sense that Lopez, as Lavoe's wife, and Anthony seem to be playing themselves."

09 of 27

2007: Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony tour together

Shortly after the release of El Cantante, Lopez and Anthony launched the Jennifer Lopez & Marc Anthony en Concierto tour in September 2007.

During the performance at the Staples Center in L.A. on Oct. 17, 2007, Anthony performed the Journey song "Faithfully" and dedicated it to Lopez, saying, "It's a real personal song, This song has a whole new significance."

10 of 27

November 7, 2007: Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony announce they are expecting

At the final stop on the Jennifer Lopez & Marc Anthony en Concierto tour in Miami on Nov. 7, 2007, Lopez and Anthony finally confirmed what audiences had speculated over the last several weeks — Lopez was pregnant.

Lopez announced to the crowd, "Marc and I are expecting a baby!" Later, Lopez joked about the flowing gowns she wore throughout the tour to hide her pregnancy, saying, "I kind of feel like everybody knew anyway. I was on tour with a bubble gut!"

11 of 27

February 22, 2008: Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony welcome twins

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On Feb. 22, 2008, Lopez and Anthony announced exclusively to PEOPLE that Lopez had given birth to twins. One week later, the couple confirmed to PEOPLE they named their children Emme and Max.

"Jennifer and Marc are delighted, thrilled and over the moon," Lopez's manager Simon Fields told PEOPLE.

12 of 27

February 14, 2009: Marc Anthony surprises N.Y.C. audience with Jennifer Lopez and their twins

Just shy of the twins' first birthday, Anthony surprised the crowd during his concert at N.Y.C.'s Madison Square Garden on Valentine's Day in 2009 with three very special guest stars — Lopez and twins Max and Emme.

13 of 27

July 15, 2011: Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony split

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Anthony and Lopez announced they were separating in July 2011, with a source telling PEOPLE the couple split "after months of nonstop arguing" and "Marc and Jennifer decided it's best to go their separate ways for the sake of their two kids."

Weeks prior, Lopez sparked rumors of a split when she attended the BAFTA Brits to Watch party in L.A. without her wedding ring or her husband.

Following the announcement, a source told PEOPLE that Lopez was focusing on her work after the separation. "For her, it's back to business," the source said. "She is all about her career. She's excited to move on."

14 of 27

April 9, 2012: Marc Anthony files for divorce from Jennifer Lopez

Nearly 10 months after their separation, Anthony filed for divorce from Lopez on April 9, 2012, citing irreconcilable differences.

However, in the months following the separation, the former couple continued working together on music and as judges on the dance competition series Q'Viva! The Chosen.

15 of 27

June 16, 2014: Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony finalize their divorce

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John Parra/WireImage

Though Anthony filed for divorce in April 2012, Lopez did not file a response until December 2013. The former couple's divorce was not finalized until June 16, 2014, nearly three years after Lopez and Anthony announced their separation.

"I went through a tremendous low," Lopez told PEOPLE in 2014. "But I wouldn't change anything [about my past] because it made me who I am."

In their divorce, Lopez was granted primary custody of the twins. In November of that same year, Anthony married model Shannon de Lima.

16 of 27

October 6, 2016: Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony announce new music collaboration

On Oct. 6, 2016, Anthony and Lopez announced they were reuniting — at least, professionally, teaming up to do a Spanish-language album. A few days later, Lopez shared a Snapchat video of the two together from inside a recording studio.

That same month, they performed together on stage at a campaign fundraiser for Hillary Clinton.

17 of 27

November 17, 2016: Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony kiss onstage

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Michael Tran/FilmMagic

Lopez and Anthony shared a kiss onstage at the 2016 Latin Grammys after performing a duet of the 1984 Spanish hit "Olvidame y Pega la Vuelta."

Days later, Anthony and his then-wife de Lima announced their separation. The timing of these two events led many to wonder if Lopez and Anthony had rekindled the flame. However, sources confirmed to PEOPLE the two were not reuniting as a couple.

18 of 27

March 20, 2017: Jennifer Lopez says she and Marc Anthony are "great friends"

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In March 2017, Lopez shot down rumors of a rekindling romance with Anthony when Lopez, who was dating Alex Rodriguez, addressed the matter during a Live with Kelly appearance.

"I think we're really good the way we are," the singer said of her dynamic with Anthony, who made his red carpet debutwith then-girlfriend Mariana Downing in New York City. "Honestly, we're always gonna be great friends. I'm always gonna be there for him; he's always gonna be there for me."

She added: "We share something very special in the kids, and we know that. We're there for them, and that's the main thing."

That same week, Anthony called Lopez "my girl — for life" in an Extra red carpet interview, adding, "If you want to get along with a woman, just get divorced."

19 of 27

July 11, 2017: Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony reunite for music video

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Lopez and Anthony teamed up (briefly) for the steamy music video set to Lopez's Spanish-language single, "Nu Tú Ni Yo" in July 2017.

While the pair only shared 40 seconds of screen time in the video — which also stars Cuban reggaeton duo Gente de Zona — the single was one of several collaborations the exes worked had been working on together.

20 of 27

September 16, 2017: Marc Anthony attends Jennifer Lopez's concert on his birthday

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Marc Anthony/Instagram

The Latin singer may have split with Lopez in 2011 after seven years of marriage, but Anthony once again proved there's no bad blood when he stopped by Planet Hollywood in Las Vegas to catch Lopez's All I Have residency show on his 49th birthday.

"Starting the Pre-birthday celebration @jlo," he captioned an Instagram photo with his crew, which included his girlfriend, Raffaella Modugno.

21 of 27

September 27, 2017: Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony announce formation of Puerto Rico relief organization

In the aftermath of the devastation of Hurricane Maria on Puerto Rico, Lopez and Anthony announced they would be leading a new initiative, Somos Una Voz (We Are One Voice), a humanitarian alliance with influential figures across different industries, to help Puerto Rico. One of the participants included Lopez's then-boyfriend, Rodriguez. The following month, Lopez and Anthony announced they would headline a relief concert for Puerto Rico.

"There's just no question about it when it comes to things like this.The truth is, we are all one. We are all family," Lopez told PEOPLE, in reference to working with both Anthony and Rodriguez for the concert. "We are doing this because it's the right thing to do. Our community needs us right now, and we are very aware that we are leaders in our community. If we step out and do something, hopefully, people will follow and do the same."

22 of 27

November 30, 2017: Jennifer Lopez says working with Marc Anthony "repaired" their relationship

Over three years after their divorce, Lopez said in an interview on Spotify's ¡Viva Latino! podcast that her post-marriage collaborations with Anthony "repaired" their relationship.

"It actually kind of repaired certain parts of our relationship that had been fractured from our marriage and our divorce, and it kind of made us friends again," she explained. "Because when we first started working together, it's how we met … we met working. And so we remembered that, like, oh right, we connect on this level of music."

23 of 27

June 13, 2018: Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony attend their daughter's dance recital

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Alex Rodriguez Instagram

Lopez and Anthony strengthened their co-parenting relationship when they came together to see their daughter Emme perform in a dance recital.

Rodriguez, who was dating Lopez at the time, was also in attendance to watch his two daughters dance at the same recital.

24 of 27

December 16, 2018: Jennifer Lopez says Marc Anthony helped her with her confidence during their marriage

In a December 2018 interview on Today, Lopez opened up about how Anthony helped her with her confidence when they were married.

According to Lopez, Anthony would tell her, "You're a great singer. Don't ever let anybody tell you you're not a great singer."

She added, "And I respected him so much because I consider him one of the best singers of all time."

25 of 27

June 16, 2019: Jennifer Lopez pays tribute to Marc Anthony on Father's Day

On Father's Day in 2019, Lopez paid tribute to Anthony on Instagram with a series of photos and one video that included appearances from their twins. In a separate post, Lopez also celebrated her then-fiancé, Rodriguez.

Lopez wrote in the caption to Anthony, "Happy Father's Day to you Flaco! Emme and Max love you sooo much!! Thank you for these two beautiful coconuts!! Feliz Dia Del Padre!! #throwback."

26 of 27

April 2021: Jennifer Lopez leans on Marc Anthony after her split with Alex Rodriguez

Following Lopez breaking off her engagement with Rodriguez, a source told PEOPLE Lopez was leaning on Anthony and spending time with their twins as Lopez filmed the movie Shotgun Wedding in the Dominican Republic.

"The kids have visited her, and they make her the happiest," the insider said. "Jennifer and Marc [Anthony] have a great relationship. Having Marc around while she has had to work abroad has been very comforting for Jennifer."

On May 27, Lopez and Anthony were spotted having coffee at the W Hotel in Miami Beach, according to a source.

"A lot of hotel guests recognized her, and she was super nice and upbeat with anyone who approached," the source told PEOPLE. "They ordered coffee."

27 of 27

June 20, 2021: Jennifer Lopez honors Marc Anthony on Father's Day

As she had done in previous years, Lopez honored her ex-husband on Father's Day in her Instagram Story by sharing a handful of family photos featuring their two kids.

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