Jennifer Lopez, Alex Rodriguez call off engagement: 'We are better as friends'

Jennifer Lopez and Alex Rodriguez have confirmed their split in a joint statement. The couple, who have been dating since 2017, announced on the Today show on Thursday, 15 April that their relationship had come to an end after attempts to fix their problems failed, reports The Independent. Their joint statement reads: “We have realised 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 reports on their split began to circulate in mid-March, but the couple shut down those rumours, saying in a statement to TMZ, “All the reports are inaccurate. We are working through some things.” Lopez and Rodriguez got engaged in the Bahamas in March 2019 after dating for two years. The actress was previously married to Ojani Noa (1997–1998), Cris Judd (2001–2003) and Marc Anthony (2004–2014), with who she shares 13-year-old twins, Max and Emme. Rodriguez has daughters Natasha, 16, and Ella, 12, with ex-wife Cynthia Scurtis. Earlier this year, Lopez talked about having to postpone their wedding twice because of COVID. “We postponed the wedding twice. We had planned what we really, really wanted to do, [but] I don’t know if we’ll be able to re-create that,” she told Elle. “We cancelled it, and since then we haven’t really talked about it. There’s no rush. We want to do it right when we can do it.”