Jennifer Lopez, 51, has a roster of successful albums — but one remains near and dear to her heart: 2002’s This Is Me…Then. The 13 song project was dedicated to then-boyfriend and rekindled beau Ben Affleck, 48, with a slew of songs dedicated to him. “When I listened to that [album] on many, many different levels, those songs are more relevant today than they even were then,” the Bronx native revealed in a new interview with Apple Music. “It was a real pure moment in time. And that music, when it’s important, it never goes away…love, it just doesn’t go away. It’s just there,” she added.
Several songs in particular were about Bennifer‘s initial romance, most obviously the track “Dear Ben,” as well as “The One,” (which has two versions) “Baby I Luv U!” and her smash single, “I’m Glad.” Of course, The Town actor infamously co-starred in the “Jenny From The Block” video, which served as the lead single for the LP. Directed by Francis Lawrence, the video was aimed at mocking the intense press coverage of them at the time.
Back in 2002, Ben reportedly proposed to Jen at his mom’s home in Boston while “I’m Glad” played in the background. Notably, Jennifer opted not to sing live often: the Troy Oliver and Cory Rooney produced track was left out of the set list for her Las Vegas All I Have residency. She recently included the song, however, during her performance at Global Citizen’s VAX Live concert, where Ben and her mom Guadalupe Rodriguez, 75, were in attendance. Amid Bennifer’s recent reunion, This Is Me…Then re-entered the charts — which was something Jen wasn’t expecting.
“When it entered the charts again, after 18 years, I was like, okay. You realize that it’s such a personal journey that people are on with you,” Jennifer explained, subtly referencing her and Ben’s second chance romance. “They made me go back and listen to that record. I hadn’t listened to it in so long,” she revealed. In celebration of the album’s unexpected recent success, she also took to Instagram to post an epic round-up video of moments from the era.
“ll of my albums are very special to me, but This Is Me…Then is my favorite album I’ve ever done…so far!” she wrote in her Instagram caption at the time. “I know a lot of you have heard me say that before, so in honor of my #JLovers helping it re-enter the album charts AGAIN after 19 years…here is a lil #TBT,” she added.
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During the Apple interview, Jenner talked about her new Spanish language track “Cambia El Paso” with Rauw Alejandro. Earlier in the week she explained that the song was about “change and not being afraid to take the step” if something doesn’t “feel right” on Sirius XM radio. In the new Apple interview, she revealed she’s “super happy” amid her reunion with Ben and that she’s “never been better.”
“I’m super happy. I know people are always wondering. How are you? What’s going on? Are you okay? This is it. I’ve never been better,” she confessed. “And I want my people who care about me because I care about them so much, to know that I’ve really gotten to a place in my life where I’m great on my own. And I think once you get to that place, then amazing things happen to you that you never imagine in your life happening again. And so that is where I’m at. And I love all the love that’s coming my way right now and all of the, the good wishes. And I just want everybody to know that it’s the best time. It’s the best time of my life,” she added.
Ben and Jen have been inseparable since their romantic getaway to Montana in May: the couple have since hung out in Miami and Los Angeles on various dates, and most recently even introduced their kids! Ben’s son Samuel, 9, from his marriage to ex-wife Jennifer Garner was present at Universal Studios with J.Lo and Marc Anthony‘s twins Max and Emme, 13. The couple have since jetted off to the Hamptons to enjoy their fourth of July weekend.