As Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck end their honeymoon and enjoy their newlywed life with their kids, there are some who don’t believe that this marriage will work. Ojani Noa, JLo’s first husband, offered a statement to the British tabloid The Mail on Sunday, in which he says that he doesn’t think the marriage between hiw ex with the Batman actor will last long.
In addition, he shared details about his past romance with Jennifer Lopez, which he was “love at first sight” and that even JLo herself told him that, the first time she saw him, she knew she would marry him.
Ojani Noa, JLo ex-husband
“I wish her and Ben the best, but I’m not sure it will last,” Ojani Noa told The Mail on Sunday in an interview. “Jen loves being in love, but she’s been engaged six times. Ben is her husband number four. I was her number one and she told me I was the love of her life. When we slept together on our wedding night, she said we would be together forever.“
Jennifer Lopez and first husband Ojani Noa
Ojani Noa, who is currently 48 years old, spoke with the aforementioned media outlet and revealed details of his romance with Jennifer Lopez. The couple met in 1996, when he was 22 and she was 28. Their relationship began at Lario’s, Gloria Estefan’s Cuban cafe on Ocean Drive, Miami. He was a waiter there, while JLo was already building a career in Hollywood.
“We fell in love when she was already famous. But during our marriage she became a megastar. For years it was too painful to talk about it. I wanted to hide and live my life. But when I saw that she married Ben, who is a good guy, the feelings flooded me again,” said Ojani, who assured that he is tired of being identified as the “waiter with no money” that JLo left.
In that interview, Ojani recalled his first kiss with JLo, who in those days was filming the movie Blood and wine. After their first date at Lario’s, both were totally in love. JLo’s assistant contacted Ojani and informed him that JLo and the crew would go to a club to celebrate the end of filming and invited him. Ojani asked Jennifer to dance and that’s when they kissed.
“We could both feel that romantic energy, it was instant and intense. It was like running through our bodies.” After that night, she flew to Los Angeles and he stayed in Miami, but they spent weeks on the phone. When she came back to Miami for the Blood and Wine premiere, she brought him as her date. He remembers renting a suit and realizing that night the power and popularity of his girlfriend’s name.
“I quit my job and moved to Los Angeles. We lived in a nice apartment. But soon we moved into our first house and then the houses got bigger. She loved that I was a rafter from Cuba. I never wanted anything from her. I always worked and had my own money,” Ojani explained.
The “red flags” in their relationship began to appear after JLo accepted the role of Selena for the Selena Quintanilla biopic. Later, came JLo’s first album. Despite thing not going great, he saved up and bought the singer a $15,000 ring, which he gave her at the party for the release of Selena at the Hard Rock Cafe.
The couple married in February 1997, in Miami, in the backyard of a mutual friend’s house. Ojani remembers that Lupe, Jennifer’s mom, was upset with her because she didn’t get married in the Bronx, which was where the family was from.
Ojani intervened in this discussion between the mom and daughter and since them, he said the relationship with his mother-in-law was never good.
Recently, JLo’s mom said that Ben Affleck was the great love of her life. Returning to these statements, Ojani said: “If Ben has Lupe on his side, maybe there is a chance (that the marriage will last).”
The marriage with JLo began to get complicated, as the singer began to have more and more commitments, to the point that when he wanted to see her, her assistants told him: “Sorry, she is not available.”
On top of that, there was the issue of children; They both wanted to have a family, but when her career began to take off, a baby was not in her plans. “She told me she couldn’t have a baby because it would interfere with her career.”
There were also rumors that Jennifer was dating Sean Combs, better known as P. Diddy. Finally, in 1998 the couple divorced and shortly after, JLo made her relationship with P. Diddy public.
About Ben and JLo getting married
“I’m happy she’s back with Ben, but I have a feeling that it won’t last,” Ojani said.
“I think (Jennifer) is someone who will marry seven or eight times. I can’t see her ever settling down with one person,” Ojani added. “She is constantly striving to advance her professional life, which is why she has had a three-decade career”
Ojani Noa
“For many years I felt hurt. I think if she hadn’t had all those people around her, we could still be together.” “But I have my life and I am happy. I still believe in love, and I hope that Jen has finally found the love she was looking for.”