"I didn’t know if it was a date" - Looking back at the time when New York Yankees star Alex Rodriguez was unsure about the nature of his meetup with Jennifer Lopez in 2017
In 2017, former New York Yankees star Alex Rodriguez opened up on how his first meeting with ex-fiancee Jennifer Lopez went.
In an interview with Vanity Fair, A-Rod spoke about how he was prepared to meet Lopez at the Bel Air hotel:
“I didn’t know if it was a date. Maybe we were seeing each other at night because of her work schedule. I went in uneasy, not knowing her situation.
"It would be incredibly productive for me to sit with one of the smartest, greatest women in the world. Especially for a guy like me, who is coming through tough times, rehabbing himself, and re-establishing himself to folks out there. I thought it would be a win-win no matter what.”
In V.F.'s cover story, @JLo & @ARod share everything from first date details to the “reveals” that forged their bond vntyfr.com/kBKg3VQ https://t.co/HHnkRA0BK8
Rodriguez met Lopez in 2005 when the latter was married to ex-husband Marc Anthony, with whom she shares twin sons. The pair started dating in 2017, before A-Rod proposed to Lopez in the Bahamas in 2019.
In March 2021, the pair called off their engagement, stating that they were better off as friends. However, the duo continue to be business partners and have been part of joint ventures as well.
Jennifer Lopez and Alex Rodriguez - Vanity Fair Oscar Party portrait studio. https://t.co/cY0AG2gy6g
Alex Rodriguez opens up on tough times during steroid ban beside Jennifer Lopez
Rodriguez admitted to using PEDs as a player with the New York Yankees in 2009. After a thorough investigation, he was handed a 211-game suspension for the use of steroids. His suspension was reduced to 162 games, which kept him out of the entire 2014 season.
In the same interview, A-Rod opened up about the ban with Lopez by his side. He spoke about the time away from the sport, while learning from his past mistakes:
“I felt I could work on myself and understand why I kept making mistakes. ... In a weird way, 2014 will be the best thing that ever happened to me. It forced a paradigm shift. ... I was so angry at myself, so pissed off, that it was hard to breathe.”
Alex Rodriguez admitted that he went to therapy during his ban, which helped him get better when he returned to the MLB in 2015. He hit 33 home runs in his comeback season, making him one of the best players for the Yankees that year. Rodriguez called it quits in 2016 after 22 seasons in the league.