Jennifer Lopez: 'Ben Affleck and I had a real connection'

Jennifer Lopez doesn't regret her high-profile romance with Ben Affleck because it was "genuine."

The movie stars dated from 2002 to 2003 and even became engaged, but their fairytale romance came to a halt and they separated a day before they were set to wed. During their relationship they were at the centre of many tabloid stories and headlines and despite all the drama, Jennifer insists she and Ben were just trying to be a normal couple.

"We didn't try to have a public relationship," she tells People.com. "We just happened to be together at the birth of the tabloids, and it was like, 'Oh my God!' It was just a lot of pressure."

When they were together, the 46-year-old felt as if she had found her soulmate, but she now admits she looks at the relationship with a different perspective.

"I felt like..., 'Ok, this is it,' (but) sometimes I feel like what you think people are and how you see them when you love them is different than when they reveal later (sic)."

And she suggests the romance could have worked if she and Ben had fallen in love at a different time: "Who knows what could have happened, but there was a genuine love there."

Jennifer went on to marry and divorce singer Marc Anthony, while Ben married and is currently in the middle of divorcing actress Jennifer Garner.

Jennifer previously admitted Ben was her first big heartbreak, and she credits Marc for helping her heal.

"It was probably my first big heartbreak and to have one of my best friends, who I had known for years, who I actually love and did have chemistry with, come into my life and say, 'I'm here...,'" she told U.S. breakfast show Today in 2014. "What you need to know is nobody can save you or heal you, only you can do that for you (sic)."