Jennifer Lopez and Alex Rodriguez: A Timeline of Their Relationship
Right up until he put that (almighty rock) ring on it
Jennifer Lopez and Alex Rodriguez' relationship appears to go from strength to strength. Ever since confirming their coupling of two years, there's been a joint Vanity Fair cover, adorable red carpet posing, Instagram gushing and Rodriguez stepping up to be the best Instagram boyfriend out there.
Their nicknames even prove they're supposed to be together: J-Lo, A-Rod. Tell us, that's not the work of fate, people.
Here's a timeline of everything we know about their relationship so far (starting with the most recent update):
10 March, 2019: Congratulations are in order as J-Lo and A-Rod are engaged!
The couple uploaded matching photos to Instagram of an engagement ring on Jennifer's hand set against a gorgeous beach sunset backdrop.
Alex simply captioned the post "she said yes" and we are, already, so excited for this wedding.
View this post on InstagramA post shared by Alex Rodriguez (@arod) on
You may not be fooled by the rocks that she got but, let's be real, that is a pretty big one.
And here's what we know of the rest of Jennifer and Alex's relationship history - starting from the very beginning...
21 May, 2005: This is the first time Jen and Alex meet. Jennifer is with then husband Marc Anthony (and the father of their twins Max and Emme) and they were watching baseball player A-Rod's team the New York Yankees play the New York Mets. At this time, Rodriguez was married to his ex-wife, Cynthia, who is also mother of his two children, Natasha and Ella.
'Winter' 2016/early 2017: Fast forward 11 years and J-Lo spots Alex outside a restaurant in Beverly Hills, Los Angeles.
"I almost yelled out 'Alex', but I am the shyest person when it comes to things like that," she told Vanity Fair in October. "I could literally have just walked away but I walk over and tap him on the shoulder and say 'Hey'... It was just one of those things where you feel compelled to do, something you wouldn’t normally do."
Alex, 43, responds by telling Jennifer, 49, she looked beautiful and then a few hours later calls her and asks her out to dinner. Bosh.
Their first date happens at Hotel Bel Air. After a lot of talking and nervousness, Alex heads off to the bathroom and sends a text saying: 'You look sexy AF'.
Yes. This really happened, guys. They told Vanity Fair!
8 March, 2017: Their relationship becomes public news! Though there were rumours J-Lo was romantically involved with Drake, these are soon replaced by reports surfacing about dates with Rodriguez.
A 'source close to Lopez' tells People: "They have been dating for a few weeks. She seems excited. He has been around her family and she really likes that he is a dad. She is aware, though, that he is a ladies' man and is being cautious. For now, it's just fun."
This 'ladies man' reputation comes from Rodriguez' rumoured high-profile relationships, before Jenny from the Block, including Kate Hudson, Cameron Diaz and Madonna.
31 March, 2017: Rodriguez confirms his new, budding relationship on The View.
"It's obvious, we've been having a great time," the poor guy says looking a bit overwhelmed, but carrying on gushing nonetheless. "She's an amazing girl and one of the smartest human beings I've ever met and also an incredible mother."
That same day the couple are spotted for the first time together, arm in arm and matchy-matchy in beige, leaving a restaurant in New York City.
24 April, 2017: Lopez goes on The Ellen Show and is all giggly and smiley discussing her new relationship: "He is a great guy" she said speaking about the origins of their relationship, clarifying: "Mama don't sleep over on the first date".
May 1, 2017: The couple make their red carpet debut at the Met Gala and look uh-mazing.
June 18, 2017: J-Lo and A-Rod take a holiday to Paris where they're photographed eating ice cream, visiting the Louvre and generally just walking hand-in-hand around the city of love.
View this post on InstagramA post shared by Jennifer Lopez (@jlo) on
15 October, 2017: After Hurricane Maria devastates parts of the Caribbean and central America, including Puerto Rico where Jennifer's parents are from, and the Dominican Republic - where Alex's parents are from - the two front a benefit concert and telethon: One Voice: Somos Live. It included Latino and American singers and they present it in collaboration with Lopez's ex-husband Marc Anthony (who also has parents from Puerto Rico).
"Right when the hurricane hit Puerto Rico, Marc and I got on the phone and started talking about what we could do," Lopez tells People. "Alex was right next to me and he started spitballing things we could do... We are all family. We are doing this because it's the right thing to do. Our community needs us right now and we are very aware that we are leaders in our community."
17 October, 2017: The couples' first joint-interview is released with lots of lovely pictures of them on yachts and outside of mansions. They discuss their relationship in depth and explain why they're so compatible. Ice queens, prepare for your hearts to melt.
"We're are very much twins," Rodriguez says. "We're both Leos; we're both from New York; we're both Latino and about 20 other things."
Lopez adds: "I understand him in a way that I don't think anyone else could, and he understands me in a way that no one else could ever. In his 20s, he came into big success with the biggest baseball contract [at the time]. I had a no.1 movie and a no.1 album and made history. We both had ups and downs and challenges in our 30s and by our 40s we'd both been through so much. And more importantly than anything, we had both done a lot of work on ourselves."
5 November, 2017: Rodriguez shares an adorable picture of him, Jennifer and their children eating ice cream.
View this post on InstagramA post shared by Alex Rodriguez (@arod) on
7 January, 2018: Lopez and Rodriguez travel to Loiza, Puerto Rico and meet with government officials to discuss the impact of the destructive hurricane. The couple also launch a recovery fund to boost the health centres working in the area.
"We've been together for one year today," she said according to E! News. "I don't want to get all mushy or anything but baby this song's for you. I love you."
15 March, 2018: A-Rod shares an adorable photo of the couple with their children in Miami: Tashi, Ella, Max and Emme.
View this post on InstagramA post shared by Alex Rodriguez (@arod) on
24 April, 2018: The couple attend the prestigious Time 100 gala - where Jennifer is on the list and also performing - they bring along Jennifer's younger sister, Lynda Lopez, and mother Guadalupe Rodriguez. Alex captions the picture on Twitter: "Shoulder to shoulder with some truly strong women."
11 June, 2018: Engagement rumours begin to swirl but J-Lo plays it down, telling Good Morning America: "We have to take our time. I've made plenty of mistakes in [the] past, we're mature now, we're grown ups, we're going to take our time and take things at our own pace.... we're having the best time between our kids and our work and all the wonderful things going on. We're truly blessed, we don't need anything more right now."
20 August, 2018: Alex Rodriguez becomes a certified Instagram boyfriend when he's caught snapping pictures of his girlfriend on the red carpet at the VMAS.
Moments later he is caught on camera living his best life during J-Lo's medley performance of all her greatest hits before she receives the MTV Vanguard award. He becomes an instant meme.
A Rod supporting JLO is the type of energy we all need #VMAs pic.twitter.com/uo9rfOYkMD
— dan the wise (@daniela_llebron) August 21, 2018
Turns out he's been practising being a "fan boy" and shared a picture on Instagram three days before of Jennifer rehearsing.
View this post on InstagramA post shared by Alex Rodriguez (@arod) on
When Jennifer accepts her award, she's sure to thank her partner in crime, saying: "You're my twin soul, we're like mirror images of each other. My life is sweeter and better with you in it because you make me realise that every day the sky is not the limit, the universe is infinite and so is what we can accomplish together with love and trust and understanding. There is so much more to do, to experience and there's no one I'd rather do it with, baby. You're my macho and I love you."
25 January 2019: In an interview with Red magazine, Jennifer explains why her and Alex are so darn well suited:
"Both Alex and I are Latino. We are both self-made. He was always the hardest working baseball player that was – me, the same. We have that in common. We have the same work ethic. We also appreciate and know that coming from nothing, we always want to try to help and give back and teach our kids that."
30 January, 2015: In a throwback to the 90s (on a photo where J Lo actually looks exactly like she did in the 1990s) P Diddy left a comment a somewhat thirsty comment, as captured by the Comments By Celebs Instagram account:
View this post on InstagramWaiting on you, @marcanthony. #CommentsByCelebs
A post shared by Comments By Celebs (@commentsbycelebs) on
Enter A-Rod, who made it very clear that Diddy his time and that he is now the "lucky" man on Jennifer's arm.
In all seriousness, Diddy (real name Sean Combs) and J-Lo, who dated from 1999 to 2001, are on good terms with the rapper even coming out to support the singer in her final Las Vegas show last year.
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