Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony got married on June 5, 2004. The then-couple had a very small ceremony in front of about 40 guests in the backyard of Lopez’s home in Los Angeles, according to History. The no frills wedding was exactly what Lopez had wanted; this was her third marriage, after all. Things seemed to be going swimmingly for the entertainers, who welcomed twins Max and Emme in 2008, making Lopez a first-time parent; Anthony is also a father to four other children from previous relationships, according to PopSugar.
When their babies were only 3-years-old, Lopez and Anthony announced their decision to split. “We have decided to end our marriage. This was a very difficult decision. We have come to an amicable conclusion on all matters. It is a painful time for all involved, and we appreciate the respect of our privacy at this time,” the former couple said in a joint statement to People magazine at the time. The singers finalized their “amicable” divorce in June 2014, according to the LA Times. Nicki Swift wanted to get the scoop on the legal proceedings from an expert, so we reached out to Ankit Kapoor, Esq., founding partner at Cohen Stine Kapoor LLP, for some info. We asked Kapoor what the messiest part of Anthony and Lopez’s divorce really was, and he gave us his response, based on what he knows about the case. Keep reading to find out what Kapoor had to say.
Jennifer Lopez's divorce from Marc Anthony was different because she had kids
Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony seemed to realize that they were better off as friends, but that doesn’t mean that going through a divorce was easy for either of them. Ankit Kapoor, Esq., told Nicki Swift that Lopez was known to “come from a family where divorce was not an option.” And while this was her third divorce, it was tricky because this time, she had her kids. Kapoor said that this caused Lopez “to feel a great deal of guilt and shame.”
In fact, Kapoor says, the messiest part of Lopez and Anthony’s divorce had to do with their kids, Max and Emme, specifically them having to figure out “how the co-parenting would work going forward.” Kapoor added, “This is often hardest for people who come from families where divorce is uncommon. They think they are going to be married forever just like their parents, brothers, sisters, etc. So the whole idea of co-parenting hits them like a whirlwind.”
Jennifer Lopez was awarded primary custody of her twins
Following their split, Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony had to come to an agreement when it came to the custody of their two kids. According to InStyle, news that Anthony had cheated on Lopez broke shortly after they announced their decision to part ways. And while Anthony denied those reports, according to ABC News, Ankit Kapoor, Esq., told Nicki Swift that the rumors “must have caused [a] tremendous rift during the divorce process.” Kapoor went on to say that, given this information, it’s not surprising that custody was a central focus in Lopez and Anthony’s divorce case.
Once things were finalized, “Jennifer ended up having primary custody of her 6-year-old twins and Marc only saw the children roughly 7 days a month, a mere 23% of the time, and this took three years,” Kapoor said, referring to Lopez and Anthony’s divorced being finalized in 2014, three years after they first filed. Kapoor explained to us that, in the state of New York, custody is often the first thing that is settled when a divorce involves children and finances. “Judges often encourage parties to settle custody first, and litigate financial issues thereafter,” he said, adding that “they ‘bifurcate’ the issues,” which essentially means that those two things are divided into two branches.
Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony have figured things out
Flash forward to 2021, and things between Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony are going really well. The two appear to co-parent with ease, and each seem to spend ample amounts of time with Max and Emme. Lopez has shared photos of her kids with their dad on Instagram from time to time, and the two seem really good about helping each other with the kids when the other has to work. Regardless of what may have happened in the past, Max and Emme seem extremely well-adjusted. As Ankit Kapoor, Esq., points out, sometimes during divorce proceedings “judges may also appoint an attorney for the children and a forensic psychiatrist to further assist with the process,” but added that didn’t appear to be the case with Lopez and Anthony’s divorce.
In recent Lopez/Anthony news, he participated in Lopez’s April 2021 cover story for InStyle, telling the magazine that Lopez is “the hardest worker [he’s] ever met,” and saying that he “learned so much from her.” Anthony’s glowing opinion of his ex-wife proves that all’s well that ends well.
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