It is hard to picture Alex Rodriguez with anyone other than Jennifer Lopez. However, on April 15, 2021, the couple announced their breakup.
“We have realized we are better as friends and look forward to remaining so,” they revealed in a statement to Today. “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.”
12 years before Alex and J. Lo started dating, the pair met at a 2005 Yankees game. At the time, he and Cynthia, who share daughters Natasha and Ella, were still married. As for the “On the Floor” singer, she was married to ex-husband Marc Anthony, with whom she shares kids Emme and Max.
In 2017, Jennifer and Alex had a chance encounter that blossomed into a full-blown love story. “It’s very simple. I was having lunch somewhere and I saw him. He passed by,” the Hustlers actress recalled during an appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show that year. “Afterward, I went outside, but for some reason, I felt like tapping him on the shoulder and said, ‘Hi.'”
Although the pair didn’t exchange numbers, J. Lo revealed that Alex managed to get in contact with her anyway. “He [later] texted me, ‘Let’s go out to dinner,’ and I said, ‘OK,'” she said. “We had a nice dinner.” Nearly two years later, in March 2019, the New York natives announced their engagement.
Their plans for a fairytale wedding in Italy were derailed, though. “It was all planned out and paid for,” a source told Us Weekly in April 2020. “They obviously had to postpone it due to coronavirus, but J. Lo wants to marry A-Rod shortly after things go back to normal.”
The couple appeared happier than ever despite their delayed nuptials — even when rumors began to circulate that Alex cheated on Jennifer with Southern Charm‘s Madison LeCroy. The speculation began after Madison’s costar Craig Conover called her out during Part I of the Southern Charm season 7 reunion, which aired on January 28.
“You were flying around the country sleeping with men, married men. Ex-MLB players,” Craig claimed. “That’s what you were doing during quarantine.” However, on February 3, Alex posted a sweet video of Jennifer rocking out to the Foo Fighters in his convertible.
The retired professional baseball player has been in a number of public relationships over the years, including with Cameron Diaz, Kate Hudson and his first wife, Cynthia Scurtis. Scroll through the gallery below to see Alex Rodriguez’s complete dating history.