Jennifer Lopez and Alex Rodriguez's Relationship Timeline

"We are working through some things."

Jennifer Lopez and Alex Rodriguez

Getty Images 

Jennifer Lopez and Alex Rodriguez's journeys to fame are quite similar. They both started from humble beginnings, growing up in the Bronx and finding fame young. After marriages, divorces and children, the actress and the baseball pro finally found each other in their late forties. From their adorable Met Gala appearances to the jaw-dropping engagement ring, here's everything you need to know about J-Rod.

  • Jennifer Lopez and Alex Rodriguez first met at a Yankee game in 2005, although they were married to other people at the time.
  • They rekindled their friendship after a coincidental run-in in 2017 and immediately began dating.
  • Alex proposed to Jennifer with a huge emerald-cut diamond ring that cost somewhere between $1-4 million.
  • They postponed their summer 2020 destination wedding due to COVID-19 and despite reports of ending their engagement on March 12, 2021, the couple is currently "working through some things."

1998: The Dream Date

Almost 20 years before J-Rod would become a thing, Alex actually predicted his future relationship with Jennifer. A resurfaced video from 1998 showed an interviewer ask a young Alex, "What would a dream date with Alex Rodriguez be?" The professional athlete responded without hesitation saying, "Jennifer Lopez. Hopefully you can find me a date with her." Excuse us, our hearts are melting!

May 2005: Their First Meeting

Alex Rodriguez and Jennifer Lopez shaking hands in 2005
Mike Ehrmann

Jennifer and Alex met for the first time at a New York Yankee game in 2005. At the time, Jennifer was married to singer Marc Anthony, who was by her side when she shook hands with Alex on the baseball field. Alex was also married to Cynthia Scurtis.

Early 2017: A Random Run In

In a coincidental moment, Jennifer and Alex ran into each other in Los Angeles. While they have different recounts of what exactly went down, it started with Jennifer tapping Alex on the shoulder and ended in Alex sending her a text asking her to dinner later that night.

March 31, 2017: J-Rod Is Confirmed

During an appearance on The View, Alex confirmed the relationship rumors were true and even revealed that chocolate chip ice cream and chocolate chip cookies were her guilty pleasures.

May 1, 2017: The Ultimate Date Night

Alex Rodriguez and Jennifer Lopez at Met Gala
 Getty Images

Just a month after going public with their relationship, Alex and Jennifer made their first red carpet appearance at the 2017 Met Gala—basically the ultimate date night. Alex played the perfect Instagram boyfriend, taking photos of Jennifer as she posed on the red carpet in her powder blue Valentino gown.

June 18, 2017: Adventures in the City of Love

Jennifer Lopez and Alex Rodriguez walking
Getty Images

What is more romantic than vacationing in the City of Love with your love? In short, nothing. The pair was spotted strolling along the River Seine with ice cream in hand and even posed in front of the Louvre.

October 31, 2017: Cover Stars

The lovebirds graced the cover of Vanity Fair's December issue in 2017. In their first joint interview as a couple, they gave a glimpse into what life together is like and why their relationship works. Alex called them twins revealing, “We’re both Leos; we’re both from New York; we’re both Latino and about 20 other things.”

February 3, 2018: "Baby, this song's for you!"

Exactly one year after Jennifer and Alex got together, the singer was performing at a pre-Super Bowl show in Minneapolis. To honor the special anniversary, she dedicated her song "Us" to her beau saying, "We've been together for one year today. I don't want to get all mushy or anything, but baby, this song's for you. I love you."

April 27, 2018: She Wants The Ring

Let's just say J. Lo was not subtle about what she wanted out of her relationship with A-Rod when she released her single "El Anillo." For starters, in Spanish "el anillo" literally means "the ring." Then, the chorus roughly translates to “I have never felt anything so grand/And I’m crazy about your wild side/You’ve given me so much that I’ve been thinking/I already have it all, but/When will I get the ring?” Oh yeah, the chorus is repeated 13 times throughout the song.

May 7, 2018: Red Carpet Laughs

Jennifer Lopez and Alex Rodriguez
HECTOR RETAMAL

Yes, their 2017 Met Gala date was cute, but their 2018 Met Gala appearance was even cuter. The couple walked the carpet together again and shared a laugh in front of the cameras. Are they in love or are they in love?!

July 5, 2018: She Got The Ring?

If you're a celebrity couple and don't spark engagement rumors, are you really a celebrity couple? Jennifer and Alex cemented their status in the rumor mill when J. Lo was spotted wearing a ring on that finger in an Instagram post. Of course, the speculation was not true. After all, Entertainment Tonight pointed out the ring was a simple piece of gold jewelry—wouldn't Alex propose with a big sparkler anyway?

August 1, 2018: Shutting Down The Rumors

"Of course, it has a significance," Alex confessed on Today in reference to Jennifer's new gold ring. "[But] no, we're not engaged. We're not engaged." He admitted to giving his girlfriend the ring during the springtime but it definitely did not come with a proposal. Case closed!

December 31, 2018: One Big, Happy Family

Alex shared a photo of their blended family vacation in Malibu, California to celebrate the new year on Instagram. Alex is father to Natasha, 14, and Ella, 11, while Jennifer is mother to 11-year-old twins Max and Emme.

February 3, 2019: Two Years Strong

Jennifer marked her two-year anniversary with a loving Instagram directed to Alex. "Two years of laughter/Two years of fun/Two years of adventures/Of excitement of growing and learning/Of true friendship/And so much love," she wrote. "You make my world a more beautiful safe and stable place... in the midst of our ever-changing, ever-moving life... you make me feel like a teenager starting out all over again... Every time I think I have you pegged, you surprise me in the most wonderful ways reminding me how blessed I am to have found you now in this moment at this time... our time... Te Amo Macho." She finished the caption with #atapontheshoulder, a nod to the moment their love story began.

March 9, 2019: A Million Dollar Proposal

While vacationing in the Bahamas, Alex took his relationship with the actress to the next level when he proposed on the beach. He presented his fiancé with a jaw-dropping, emerald-cut diamond ring that cost around a million dollars (although People's sources priced it at $4.5 million!). It was later revealed that the former baseball player rehearsed the proposal with his assistant the three days prior. The newly-engaged even received a congratulatory handwritten note from former President Obama—#goals.

April 9, 2019: No Rush To The Altar

Turns out J-Rod wanted to enjoy engaged life as long as possible and was in no rush to say "I do." Jennifer appeared on WKTU’s Cubby & Carolina in the Morning and revealed the pair hadn't planned any wedding festivities. "We haven’t started planning yet," she shared. "You know, we just got engaged!" To be fair, the pair had a busy summer ahead of them with Jennifer on tour and filming her movie Hustlers.

May 6, 2019: That Newly-Engaged Glow

Alex Rodriguez and Jennifer Lopez
Getty Images

For the third year in a row, Jennifer and Alex attended the Met Gala together, this time as an engaged couple! We like to think J. Lo was inspired by her new rock when she chose this sparkling Versace number. She even wore a matching wig, basically transforming herself into a walking engagement ring!

July 17, 2019: The Secret To Marriage, According to RBG

In July, Jennifer was in Washington D.C. for her "It's My Party" tour with her fiancé when they had the honor of meeting U.S. Supreme Court judge Ruth Bader Ginsburg. During their candid conversation, Jennifer asked Ginsburg about the secret to marriage. She responded with, "Sometimes it just helps to be a little bit deaf—if you hear an unkind word, let it go." Jennifer called the advice "super wise" and since Ginsburg was married for more than 50 years, she knows what she's talking about.

September 10, 2019: A-Rod Reveals Wedding Plans

During an appearance on Strahan, Sara and Keke, the former baseball player revealed some major details about his upcoming wedding day. "I got one clue for y'all. One wedding clue," he teased to the audience. "It's gonna be a long flight." From this clue, we can only assume Jennifer and Alex are planning a destination wedding. Are your passports ready?

September 27, 2019: A Romantic Engagement Party

Lyricist Carole Bayer Sager hosted the couple's elegant and romantic engagement party in Los Angeles. Glass tables adorned with candles and flower petals decorated the space and celebrities including Evan Ross, Ashley Simpson, Macy Gray, Leah Remini and Stevie Mackey were on the guest list. The couple's children were also there to celebrate their engaged parents!

February 2, 2020: J.Lo's Biggest Fan at Super Bowl LIV

Jennifer Lopez's Super Bowl LIV Half Time show became iconic, so much so that her moves became a TikTok challenge. Her biggest fan, however, was sitting right there in the audience—fiancée Alex Rodriguez. A-Rod was dancing and singing along like the rest of us (only from home), and he caught his fandom moment on camera for the rest of us to see. "AMAZING!! She ABSOLUTELY CRUSHED IT! Wow, that was so fun! I’m so proud of you, Jen! ❤️" he captioned a video of himself watching the performance on Instagram.

February 29, 2020: Their Wedding Timeline

While chatting with Oprah Winfrey on her 2020 Vision: Your Life In Focus Tour in Los Angeles, J.Lo spoke about her wedding timeline or lack thereof. "I said, 'If we're going to be together for the rest of our lives, what is the rush?'" Lopez said. "If that’s what we’re really going to do, if we’re really going to be partners, if we’re really going to try to build something together that we both never had or never felt like we had, which is a family with a husband and a wife, and a mother and father, and we embrace all our children. We show them it’s something that we didn’t have."

May 7, 2020: Pandemic Postponement

After finally settling on a summer 2020 wedding, the couple joined a long list of celebrities and other brides and grooms who had to indefinitely postpone their wedding due to the COVID-19 pandemic. "They have been struggling for weeks over this decision, but with no return to normalcy in the near future, the couple felt postponing the wedding was the safest and smartest choice," a source told E!. Later, Lopez confirmed reports on Ellen saying, "Honestly, I really don't know what's going to happen now as far as dates or anything like that. We're just kind of in a holding pattern like the rest of the world. Again, it's something that we're gonna have to wait and see in a few months, how this all pans out."

March 12, 2021: A Reported Break-Up

On March 12, 2021, it was reported that the couple allegedly called it quits after four years together. The two stars reportedly ended their engagement after two years, a source confirmed to People saying, "This has been a long time coming." Last month A-Rod was hit with cheating allegations of having an affair with Southern Charm's Madison LeCroy, but a source told People the two have never met.

March 13, 2021: Still Engaged

Less than 24 hours after news broke that the high-profile couple had ended their engagement, the stars shared a joint statement revealing they are still together. "We are working through some things," the statement read, per People. A source told the publication, "They never officially broke up and talked about it but are still together. They hit a rough patch. But were not broken up. She's working in the Dominican Republic and he's in Miami so it's tough seeing each other especially with quarantining and COVID...but they want to try to stay together."

April 15, 2021: Broken Up for Good

The two officially called off their engagement in April saying, "we are better as friends." Just over a month after the couple shared they were "working on some things" in the relationship, Jennifer Lopez and Alex Rodriguez officially called it quits. They announced their decision in a joint statement shared with People.

"We have realized we are better as friends and look forward to remaining so. 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 is to say is thank you to everyone who has sent kind words and support," the statement read.

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