Jennifer Lopez’s Best Friend Says She’s ‘As Strong as Ever’ After Settling Divorce from Ben Affleck

Jennifer Lopez’s close friend Loren Ridinger shares that not only is the multi-hyphenate entertainer a “powerhouse,” but she was also a “pillar of strength” for Ridinger after the sudden death of her husband.

Entrepreneurs Loren and JR Ridinger were guests at Lopez’s August 20, 2022 wedding to Ben Affleck in Riceboro, Georgia; by the end of the month, JR died suddenly of a pulmonary embolism while he and his wife were on vacation in Croatia. JR was just 63 years old.

Ridinger told Us Weekly that whenever she was going through the worst parts of her grief, she could “rely on” Lopez to lift her spirits up—even after Lopez, too, was grieving a loss following the 2024 dissolution of her marriage to Affleck.

“I would say, like, ‘Hey, it’s not a good day,” Ridinger said. “She’s like, 'Okay, are you fine? Are you good? Are you great?’ And we knew the difference, and we knew the words when we needed each other. I think that’s what great friendships are about, when you can test really rocky roads, really rocky times.”

Ridinger said a “worried” Lopez FaceTimed her “20 times a day” after JR’s death, telling Page Six, “Even in tough times, she would say, ‘Today is going to be great for us. We’ve got the whole future ahead of us.' And I think in times where you can’t really change your circumstances, you really need to hear that.”

“I think it’s so important to have friends in your life who lift you up—and that’s where the rubber meets the road, where you know who your tribe is, who your group is, who is looking out for you.”

Ridinger, whose book about her love story with JR, Scrambled or Sunny-Side Up?, came out on February 11, told the outlet that “by the time I finished the book, she was grieving with me. I realized that you don’t have to lose someone to grieve. You can actually go through the loss of a loved one or a divorce and grieve.”

“I think we were so fortunate that we had each other,” she continued. “If we wanted to cry, we could cry. If we wanted to laugh, we could laugh. And we realized that there is sun again and there are rainbows again. She’s such an inspirational person.”

Ridinger—whose famous circle of friends includes Serena Williams, who wrote the foreward for her book—called Lopez “one of my best friends for so many years and somebody who’s been a big support. I love her and I admire her and I look up to her, but she’s been a pillar of strength at a time where it’s been hard for her, too. She’s a powerhouse.”

After originally falling in love in the early aughts and getting engaged for the first time (and subsequently calling off the wedding in 2003), Lopez and Affleck reunited in 2021 and got engaged in 2022, marrying months later. After less than two years of marriage, the couple split last spring, and their divorce was finalized last month. According to a court filing obtained by E News!, Lopez and Affleck agreed to walk away with whatever money each acquired during their marriage, and Lopez’s surname was restored after she legally changed it to Affleck following their marriage.

After a difficult 2024—which also saw Lopez cancel her planned concert tour last summer amid her breakup—Ridinger told Us Weekly that through this dark period, “I realized that she is as strong as ever,” adding, “I’m so proud of her.”

Read the original article on InStyle