Jennifer Lopez and Alex Rodriguez are officially calling it quits weeks after attempting to work past issues. On Thursday morning, the two issued a joint statement shared exclusively with Today.
“We have realized we are better as friends and look forward to remaining so. We will continue to work together and support each other on our shared businesses and projects. We wish the best for each other and one another’s children. Out of respect for them, the only other comment we have to say is thank you to everyone who has sent kind words and support,” the statement read.
The news comes a few weeks after Lopez, 51, and Rodriguez, 45, announced that they were “working through some things” following news that the two had ended their engagement in early March.
“They never officially broke up and talked about it but are still together. They hit a rough patch. But they were not broken up. She’s working in the Dominican Republic and he’s in Miami so it’s tough seeing each other especially with quarantining and COVID, but they want to try to stay together,” a source close to the pair told PEOPLE then.
When the news first broke in early March that the two were calling it quits, a source told PEOPLE it had “been a long time coming.”
However, soon after, Rodriguez flew to the Dominican Republic where the two spent time together as she films Shotgun Wedding. A source told PEOPLE in late March that the couple was “doing everything they can to prioritize their relationship.”
“He flew back to spend a few more days with Jennifer,” an insider told PEOPLE about Rodriguez. “He is making a big effort, and he wants Jennifer to be happy.”
“Jennifer was excited to see him in person. They are really trying to figure things out,” a separate Lopez source told PEOPLE at the time. “It was a happy reunion.”
The source explained that Lopez was “very much ready to give up” on their relationship but “she is happy they are still together.”
J-Rod got engaged in the Bahamas in March 2019 after dating for two years. Over the past year, the couple has spent time at home during the pandemic with their blended families — Lopez’s 13-year-old twins Maximilian “Max” David and Emme Maribel whom she has with singer Marc Anthony and the former MLB player’s daughters Ella, 12, and Natasha, 16, whom he had with ex-wife Cynthia Scurtis.
