Alex Rodriguez Posts Eyebrow-Raising Message After Jennifer Lopez Files for Divorce From Ben Affleck

ARod and JLo were engaged right before the launch of Bennifer 2.0.

Alex Rodriguez and Jennifer Lopez attend the Tom Ford AW20 Show at Milk Studios on February 07, 2020 in Hollywood, California.
(Image credit: Getty Images)

Shortly after singer and actress Jennifer Lopez officially filed from divorce from Ben Affleck after just two years of marriage, her ex-fiancé, Alex Rodriguez, shared an arguably cryptic message on Instagram.

On Tuesday, Aug 20—the same day Lopez filed the necessary paperwork to end her marriage—Rodriguez shared a since-vanished quote on Instagram Stories, People reports.

"You either go one way or the other, you might as well be the one deciding the direction," the post said in simple script. The quote was credited to the former New York Yankees star, who played in the MLB for 22 seasons.

For the uninitiated, Rodriguez and Lopez started dating back in 2017 and before getting engaged in the Bahamas two years later, in 2019. By 2021, they called off their engagement, and shortly after reports emerged that Lopez was emailing with Affleck for months prior to her split from Rodriguez.

Alex Rodriguez and Jennifer Lopez attend the Tom Ford AW20 Show at Milk Studios on February 07, 2020 in Hollywood, California.

Alex Rodriguez and Jennifer Lopez attend the Tom Ford AW20 Show at Milk Studios on February 07, 2020 in Hollywood, California.

(Image credit: Getty Images)

After Affleck and Lopez reunited and rekindled their early aughts romance, Rodriguez was reportedly "shocked" that his ex had moved on so quickly.

"A-Rod is shocked that J.Lo has moved on," a source told E! News at the time. "He truly thought they would be able to make it work and reconnect. He has been reaching out to J.Lo trying to meet with her and she has been very short with him."

While Rodriguez's mysterious message (and the timing of the post) raised some eyebrows, a source familiar with the situation told People that the social media post "has nothing to do" with Lopez or her most recent divorce.

Lopez filed paperwork to her marriage to Affleck on the two-year anniversary of their marriage celebration in Georgia. According to reports, she filed without a lawyer and there is no prenuptial agreement.

Insiders claim that Affleck hadn't "shown interest" in making the relationship work, while others allege that the actor continued to have issues with Lopez's level of fame.

Ben Affleck & Jennifer Lopez

Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez.

(Image credit: Getty Images ¦ Franco Origlia)

Back in 2004, the couple cited excessive media attention as the reason for the demise of their relationship and the end of their engagement. At one point, Affleck even said when the two reconnected that he didn't want "a relationship on social media."

Other reports claim that Lopez was simply "tired of being humiliated" by Affleck.

"Jennifer said she was tired of being humiliated by Ben and she waited until the two year anniversary because she wanted to sting," a source recently told The Daily Mail. "But it did not sting him. He's been done for a long time and deep down she knows this. He let her have this so that she wouldn't look like the villain."

Danielle Campoamor
Weekend Editor

Danielle Campoamor is Marie Claire's weekend editor covering all things news, celebrity, politics, culture, live events, and more. In addition, she is an award-winning freelance writer and former NBC journalist with over a decade of digital media experience covering mental health, reproductive justice, abortion access, maternal mortality, gun violence, climate change, politics, celebrity news, culture, online trends, wellness, gender-based violence and other feminist issues. You can find her work in The New York Times, Washington Post, TIME, New York Magazine, CNN, MSNBC, NBC, TODAY, Vogue, Vanity Fair, Harper's Bazaar, Marie Claire, InStyle, Playboy, Teen Vogue, Glamour, The Daily Beast, Mother Jones, Prism, Newsweek, Slate, HuffPost and more. She currently lives in Brooklyn, New York with her husband and their two feral sons. When she is not writing, editing or doom scrolling she enjoys reading, cooking, debating current events and politics, traveling to Seattle to see her dear friends and losing Pokémon battles against her ruthless offspring. You can find her on X, Instagram, Threads, Facebook and all the places.