Jennifer Lopez is newly married and has found her new old love in Ex Ben Affleck. However, her first husband Ojani Noa doubts that the marriage will last long – and divulges spicy details from their romance.
Jennifer Lopez, 53, and Ben Affleck, 49, are probably the hottest love comeback in recent years. In early June, the couple said yes in Las Vegas, 20 years after their first engagement. Since then they have been enjoying their marriage to the fullest, cooing through Paris like teenagers in love and letting the world share in their happiness. As the couple’s press and fans alike follow Bennifer’s every move, one has already cast doubt on JLo and Ben’s marriage: Ojani Noa, 48, Lopez’s first husband.
Jennifer Lopez’s first husband reveals details from their wedding night
After three failed marriages, Jennifer Lopez has finally found the man she calls her “soulmate.” “Maybe you’ll find the best moment of your life in Las Vegas at 12:30 am in the Tunnel of Love drive-thru with your kids and the one you’ll be with forever,” she wrote in her shortly after her secret wedding newsletter and caused heart palpitations not only among her fans.
Her first husband Ojani Noa, who now lives away from the Hollywood spotlight, spoke to the British newspaper Daily Mail about his ex’s new happiness. “I wish her and Ben the best, but I’m not sure it will last ” says Ojani. “Jen loves to be in love but she’s been engaged six times. Ben is husband number four. I was husband number one and she told me I was the love of her life. As we lay in bed on our wedding night, she said we’d be together forever.”
“There were many times I felt like Cinderella”
Although Jennifer and Ojani divorced in 1998, they remained friends for many years thereafter. That doesn’t sound like it today, however. The 48-year-old is tired of being dismissed as the “penniless waiter” that JLo left after just a year of marriage. “We were romantically involved for two years but were friends for almost a decade,” he says, revealing more about their relationship. “There were many times I felt like Cinderella. She was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen. At first I had no idea who she was,” says Ojani Noa. “We fell in love when she was already famous. But during our marriage she became a megastar. For years it was too painful to talk about. I wanted to retire and live my life. But when I saw that she was married to Ben , who’s a good guy, the feelings came back up.”
Jennifer Lopez and Ojani Noa in June 1997.
© Newscom | Kathy Hutchins/Picture Alliance
He adds: “So much has been written about Jen and I, especially in the past few weeks, and most of it has been false. I want people to know the real story.” The personal trainer is adamant he would still be married to Jennifer if fame and the people he dismisses as “celebrity-feeding parasites” hadn’t got in his way.
Ojani Noa found his American dream at JLo
Ojani Noa met Jennifer Lopez in 1996 while visiting Gloria Estefan, 64,’s Cuban restaurant on Miami’s famous Ocean Drive. The then 22-year-old had come to the United States illegally in a rubber dinghy seven years earlier. “It was a miracle that we survived the crossing,” he says today. After that he looked for a job. “I worked my way up to waiter. Miami was bustling up. I modeled a bit. I made my way through. I wanted the American dream – and I found it when Jen walked into Lario’s.” After dining at Gloria Estefan’s place for the second time, Ojani knew “she was going to marry me”. After that, their relationship took off, the two became a couple and Ojani moved from Miami to Los Angeles. They tied the knot in a friend’s garden in February 1997, but their relationship began to crumble after that. Ojani says he lost 40 pounds from the stress of struggling to save his marriage “while at the same time our whole life became a lie.”
The couple eventually separated in 1998, and Jennifer Lopez publicly dated P. Diddy, 52, shortly after the divorce. Ojani Noa reportedly received a $50,000 settlement, but the couple remained close. Although Noa still thinks his marriage to Jennifer Lopez had a chance, he still believes in love. He also wishes his ex-wife: “I hope that Jen has finally found the love she was looking for.”
Sources used: dailymail.co.uk