Jennifer Lopez is reflecting on a "tough time" in her life more than a year after filing for divorce from Ben Affleck.

The "Jenny from the Block" singer, 56, opened up about her divorce in an interview with "CBS Sunday Morning" while discussing her role in the buzzy movie musical "Kiss of the Spider Woman," which hits theaters on Oct. 10. The film wrapped production about two months before Lopez filed for divorce from Affleck in August 2024.

When asked how she dealt with turmoil in her personal life around the time she was shooting the movie, Lopez laughed as she responded, "Barely. It was tough. It was a tough time." She added that making the film provided a refuge during the difficult period.

"It was the best and the worst of times," she said. "Every moment on set, and every moment I was doing this role, I was so happy. And then back home, it was not great. It was like, 'Oh, how do I reconcile this?'

"But you get through it. Honestly, I have to say, it was the best thing that ever happened to me, because it changed me − it didn't change me, it helped me grow in a way that I needed to grow, become more self-aware. I'm a different person now than I was last year."

Lopez, who wrapped her Up All Night tour in August, also said she's in a "very good" place and is "able to enjoy things more" now.

Lopez and Affleck married in 2022 after rekindling their relationship the previous year. The two originally dated in the 2000s and became a tabloid fixture, famously earning the nickname "Bennifer." After getting engaged in 2002, they postponed the wedding in 2003 amid excessive media attention before later splitting.

After their breakup, Lopez was married to Marc Anthony from 2004 to 2014 and engaged to Alex Rodriguez from 2019 to 2021. Affleck, meanwhile, was married to Jennifer Garner from 2005 to 2018.

Lopez and Affleck finalized their divorce in January 2025.

Lopez stars as fictional movie star Ingrid Luna in "Kiss of the Spider Woman," an adaptation of the stage musical of the same name. Diego Luna and Tonatiuh also star. The "Let's Get Loud" singer has described the film as a dream project, as she's long wanted to star in a movie musical.

Artists Equity, the production company founded by Affleck and Matt Damon, financed "Kiss of the Spider Woman," and Lopez told CBS it would not have been made without her ex-husband.

"I'll always give him that credit," she said.

Affleck previously said in a March interview with GQ that there was "no scandal" behind his and Lopez's divorce.

"The truth is, when you talk to somebody, 'Hey, what happened?' Well, there is no: 'This is what happened.' It's just a story about people trying to figure out their lives and relationships in ways that we all sort of normally do," he said. "And as you get older, this is true for me, I assume it's true for most people, there is no 'So-and-so did this' or 'This was the big event.' "

Jennifer Lopez not thinking about possible Oscar nod: 'I learned my lesson'

Lopez has been earning Academy Awards buzz ever since "Kiss of the Spider Woman" premiered at Sundance Film Festival in January. But she told "CBS Sunday Morning" that she isn't thinking about the possibility of an Oscar nod, quipping, "I learned my lesson last time."

In 2019, Lopez was widely predicted to receive an Academy Award nomination for her role in "Hustlers" but was unexpectedly snubbed. She later opened up about being hurt by the exclusion in the 2022 documentary "Halftime," saying that she "really started to think I was going to get nominated" and "got my hopes up."

"It's great to be in the conversation that you're doing work that people recognize and that they love," she told CBS. "That's enough. It's not that you can't want more, or that you don't want to stand up there and say thank you. Of course we all want that. But I realized that I don't need it in the way that maybe I thought when I was younger. Not that I wouldn't love it!"

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Jennifer Lopez opens up about 'tough' Ben Affleck divorce: 'I'm a different person now'

Reporting by Brendan Morrow, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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