Jennifer Lopez and Alex Rodriguez Were ‘on the Rocks for Almost 3 Months’ Before Split: Sources
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Fans of Jennifer Lopez and Alex Rodriguez were surprised to hear of the pair’s engagement ending after dating for nearly four years. But several sources tell PEOPLE that the couple’s relationship has been in trouble for months.
“They have been on the rocks for almost three months now. They’ve been trying to keep it together for the kids but everyone knew it wasn’t going to work,” one insider says. “They were going to buy a mega-mansion together and then that didn’t happen, once they backed out of the deal all their friends down here [in Miami] knew.”
Lopez, 51, shares 13-year-old twins Maximilian “Max” David and Emme Maribel with her ex-husband Marc Anthony. Rodriguez, 45, co-parents daughters Ella, 12, and Natasha, 16, with his ex-wife Cynthia Scurtis.
“They started having problems during the lockdown,” a separate source tells PEOPLE, adding, “They did therapy together. They really worked on their relationship.”
The coronavirus pandemic also halted Lopez and Rodriguez’s wedding plans.
RELATED: Jennifer Lopez and Alex Rodriguez End Engagement: ‘This Has Been a Long Time Coming’ Says Source
“We had planned what we really, really wanted to do, [but] I don’t know if we’ll be able to re-create that. We canceled it, and since then we haven’t really talked about it. There’s no rush,” Lopez told Elle in January. And shortly after, for the March 2021 issue of Allure, Lopez explained that therapy was “really helpful” for her and Rodriguez, and their relationship, telling the publication: “We got to work on ourselves.”
As of late, Lopez has been in the Dominican Republic filming the new rom-com Shotgun Wedding opposite actor Josh Duhamel while Rodriguez has spent most of his time in Miami. The mom of two last shared a photo of her and Rodriguez in the Dominican Republic last week and he also shared a similar portrait of them the same day.
Hours before news of his split was made public, the former MLB star shared a photo of himself on a yacht in Florida.
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On Friday, multiple sources confirmed Lopez and Rodriguez’s split. “This has been a long time coming,” a third source told PEOPLE. “They are tied in their business worlds so it’s not a cut and dry break up. It’s taken a while for them to even think about untangling it all.”
The New York Post’s Page Six was the first to report the news of the breakup.
In March 2017, PEOPLE first confirmed Lopez and Rodriguez were dating. And this year for Valentine’s Day, Lopez shared that they actually met that February. “February is our special month… our anniversary month… We met again for the first time on February 1st… the first time we went out was two days later and since then there hasn’t been a day we haven’t been together or spoken,” the actress shared on Instagram, along with a video of the extravagant bouquet of red roses from Rodriguez.
“You keep me laughing…I love your wickedly funny sense of humor… and how you always try to make every room you enter a more joyful one… I love you and all you do for me and with me….you are my funny valentine,” she wrote of the athlete who proposed in the Bahamas in March 2019 after dating for two years.
Rodriguez’s Valentine’s Day gift came after speculation arose that he had had an affair after Southern Charm reality star Madison LeCroy, who had been accused of sleeping with a married MLB player. At the time, a source told PEOPLE then that Rodriguez and LeCroy had “never met.” It’s unclear if J-Rod’s split has anything to do with the rumors of the Bravo star.