Jennifer Lopez says her 2014 divorce from singer Marc Anthony marked one of the most difficult periods of her life and nearly led her to walk away from her career.
Speaking during her “Up All Night” Las Vegas residency at Caesars Palace’s Colosseum, the 54-year-old performer reflected on the emotional toll the breakup took and how close she came to stepping away from the spotlight.
“It was truly a challenging time,” Lopez told the audience. “I was on the brink of giving up everything.”
Lopez and Anthony, who married in 2004, share twins Max and Emme, now 18. The singer recalled how overwhelming life felt after the separation while raising young children on her own.
“I suddenly found myself a single mom with two little twins,” she said during the show, according to video clips shared online by fans.
During that time, Lopez said advice from late author and motivational speaker Louise Hay helped shift her perspective.
According to Lopez, Hay asked her to think about how dancers respond when they miss a step during a routine.
“She said, ‘When you mess up in a dance, what do you do next?’” Lopez recalled. “I said, ‘You keep going until you get it right.’ And she told me, ‘Exactly. Never stop dancing.’”
Lopez said the message stayed with her and eventually became a personal mantra during difficult moments.
“My wish for everyone is that no matter what happens in your life, you keep dancing,” she told the audience.
Despite the challenges surrounding their divorce, Lopez has previously spoken positively about Anthony’s influence on her career. In a 2018 interview on Sunday Today, she credited him with encouraging her confidence as a singer.
“He always told me I had a great voice and that I should believe in it,” she said.
After their split, the two artists later collaborated on Lopez’s Spanish-language album Por Primera Vez, a project she said helped them rebuild their friendship and focus on co-parenting their children.
