Topics: Jennifer Lopez, Ben Affleck, Wedding, Sex and Relationships, Celebrity
Jennifer Lopez’s first husband has opened up about their marriage and why the pair really called it quits 11 months after tying the knot.
The 55-year-old singer has recently been making headlines after divorcing from her fourth spouse, actor Ben Affleck, on 20 August.
The filing came exactly two years to the day when they enjoyed their second wedding ceremony in Georgia.
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Prior to tying the knot to the Gone Girl actor, 52, Jennifer was married to Crid Judd between 2001 and 2003 and four-time Grammy Award-winning singer, Marc Anthony, between 2004 and 2014.
Her first marriage came in 1997 - the same year she became a household name for portraying singer Selena Quintanilla in the 1997 biopic Selena and starred alongside American rapper Ice Cube in Anaconda.
A month before Selena’s release, Jennifer said ‘I do’ to her first husband, Ojani Noa, now 49.
As per Harper’s Bazaar, the pair met when the Cuban was working as a waiter in a restaurant in Miami.
“She didn’t really speak Spanish and my English wasn’t that good at the time, but we would talk and laugh together,” he revealed to the Daily Mail.
The couple were married for just 11 months before divorcing in January 1998.
Despite their split, it appeared the pair remained on good terms for some time - with the Marry Me star famously hiring Ojani to manage her Madre's restaurant in April 2002.
However, the partnership seemingly didn’t work out, with Ojani later claiming he was wrongfully fired after working at the eatery for just six months.
He allegedly tried to sue the Hollywood icon for a breach of contract but he dropped the legal case in 2005, as per BBC News.
In a new interview with the Daily Mail, Ojani has reflected on the early days of his and the mother-of-two’s relationship.
He told the publication he was there at the ‘beginning’ of Jennifer’s career but he felt he was discarded as she further solidified her celebrity status.
“We started talking about marriage within months of seriously dating and I asked her to marry me about a year and a half after we met,” he explained.
“I was the first, the pioneer. I was there at the beginning of her career supporting her, dealing with her anxieties and insecurities.”
Ojani claimed he was a ‘really good husband’ because he ‘believed in marriage’ and that when they divorced he was ‘heartbroken’.
“I feel when she got what she wanted, I was no longer needed,” he confessed.
Elsewhere, the personal trainer claimed he put a ‘lot of time and effort’ into loving his wife, but hinted that Jennifer’s fame may have caused rifts between himself and her other three husbands.
“But when you’re with someone, you have to spend quality time with them and not think about being on camera,” he said.
Despite Ojani admitting it was ‘so sad’ to end his marriage with J.Lo, he allegedly harbours no ill feelings towards her.
Moreover, he claimed that he sympathises with her and Ben because ‘divorce is hard’.
In a parting message, he explained that if he was to speak to Jennifer following her divorce from Ben, he would tell her to ‘stay single for a while’.
“I would just say to Jen: you need to be yourself so you can find yourself,” he added.
Tyla has contacted representatives for Jennifer Lopez for comment.
