Jennifer Lopez was already a celebrity when she and her first husband, Ojani Noa, met. However, her career was still on the rise at the time, and their marriage suffered.
Jennifer Lopez And First Husband Ojani Noa's Family Plans Reportedly Changed Due To Her Career
Ojani Noa spoke with Daily Mail after learning that Jennifer Lopez got married for the fourth time — this time to Ben Affleck, whom she called her soulmate. Noa wished the couple the best but said that he wasn't convinced the marriage would last because the way he knew Lopez, she doesn't settle for one person.
There was no denying that both were very much in love at the start. However, the actor-producer, who recounted having several "Mr. Cinderella" moments with Lopez, said their marriage hit the rock bottom as her career continued to rise.
"She went from Jen to being J Lo, this big business bringing in millions. She had all these new people around her, all wanting to make money off her. I would call and an assistant would say, 'Sorry, she’s not available,'" Noa recalled.
Ojani was in charge of launching Lopez's nightclub in Los Angeles, The Conga Room, partly owned by JLo while she was making her album in New York. He started seeing her with Sean Combs, known as P. Diddy.
"I rang Jen and asked why she was going out with him on dates and she said, 'It’s just business. This is what I’m being told I have to do,'" Noa said. "I was jealous and would scream, 'But you are married!'"
He added that they had plans to have children. However, that also changed due to the direction of Lopez's career.
"We wanted kids, we discussed having kids. Then she told me she couldn’t have a baby because it would interfere with her career," he continued.
Jennifer Lopez Reportedly Encouraged First Husband To Pretend About Happy Married Life
It came to a point when Noa felt their marriage was already heading south. When they appeared for an interview with Oprah Winfrey, he was reportedly encouraged to "fake it" for the cameras.
"Oprah knew we were having problems. I was sitting in the audience and thought Oprah would come to me because we had talked about it beforehand," Noa shared.
"Oprah said to Jen, 'I hear you guys are having problems.' With that beautiful face and that beautiful smile, Jen said, 'No, everything is amazing', or something like that."
Noa said he lost a lot of weight due to the stress while he fought for their marriage but "at the same time our whole life became a lie."
He also remembered the time when they attended the Golden Globes following the success of Lopez's hit movie Selena. He remembered getting a piece of advice from Jack Nicholson.
"We went to the Golden Globes and sat with Jack [Nicholson]. He said, 'You guys look so happy,'" Noa said. "I told him, 'It’s not what it seems.' He told me to hang in there. I never thought I would be getting relationship advice from Jack Nicholson."
Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck had a surprise wedding in Las Vegas last month. While the newlyweds are a picture of a couple in love, Noa doubts their marriage will last even if he knew that Affleck is a "good guy." For Noa, the problem seems to be with his ex-wife.
"I think she’s someone who will be married seven or eight times. I can’t see her ever settling down with one person. She pushes herself to constantly go forward in her professional life, which is why she’s had a three-decade career, but she also moves on in her private life," he said of Lopez.
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