Jennifer Lopez’s BFF Loren Ridinger Shares Insight Into Her “Grieving” Ben Affleck Split

Jennifer Lopez’s longtime friend Loren Ridinger revealed how she supported the singer through her breakup with Ben Affleck while navigating her own grief.

Jennifer Lopez wasn’t alone amid her breakup with Ben Affleck.

While the “Waiting for Tonight” singer navigated the end of her two-year marriage to the Good Will Hunting actor—which resulted in a divorce settlement reached in January—she turned to longtime friend Loren Ridinger for support.

“She’s been one of my best friends for so many years and somebody who’s been a big support,” the entrepreneur told Us Weekly in an interview published Feb. 12. “I love her and I admire 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.”

Loren noted that she leaned on the Hustlers star through a challenging time of her own, as her husband JR Ridinger passed away suddenly at age 63 in August 2022. In fact, the loss—which inspired her new memoir Scrambled or Sunny-Side Up?: Living Your Best Life After Losing Your Greatest Love—occurred just days after the couple attended Ben and Jennifer’s wedding celebration in Georgia.

“Part of this whole journey was the week before JR passed away, we went to the wedding,” Loren continued. “By the time I finished the book, she was grieving with me.”

Todd Williamson/January Images/Shutterstock

And while the two friends were experiencing different losses, the 56-year-old said she was able to find common ground with Jennifer, 55, through their struggles.

“I realized that you don’t have to lose someone to grieve,” Loren added. “You can actually go through the loss of a loved one or a divorce and grieve.”

As for J.Lo, she previously shared what her split taught her about being self-sufficient.

“You have to be good on your own,” Jennifer told Interview magazine in October. “I thought I learned that, but I didn’t. And then, this summer, I had to be like, ‘I need to go off and be on my own. I want to prove to myself that I can do that.’”

Keep scrolling to take a look back at Ben and Jen’s decades-long love story.