JLo, A-Rod split, saying 'we are better as friends'

NEW YORK • Singer-actress Jennifer Lopez and former New York Yankees baseball star Alex Rodriguez have called off their engagement, announcing the break-up just a month after denying their four-year relationship was on the rocks.

"We have realised we are better as friends and look forward to remaining so," Lopez, 51, and Rodriguez, 45, said in a joint statement on Thursday.

"We will continue to work together and support each other on our shared businesses and projects," Lopez, also known by her nickname JLo, and Rodriguez, known as A-Rod, said.

One of the biggest celebrity couples in the United States for the past four years and sometimes known in the media as J-Rod, Lopez and Rodriguez said they would remain mum about the split out of respect for their children from previous relationships.

"We wish the best for each other and one another's children. Out of respect for them, the only other comment we have to say is thank you to everyone who has sent kind words and support," they said.

Lopez has three previous marriages, including to pop star and salsa sensation Marc Anthony, with whom she has twins.

Rodriguez has two daughters with ex-wife Cynthia Scurtis.

Last month, Lopez and Rodriguez had denied a flurry of reports declaring their break-up, saying they were "working through some things". But when the Let's Get Loud singer - who has been in the Dominican Republic filming the movie Shotgun Wedding - posted a series of selfies sans her enormous engagement ring, speculation surfaced anew.

Lopez and Rodriguez, who played professional baseball for more than two decades including for the New York Yankees, first went public with their relationship in May 2017 at the Met Gala.

Late last year, Lopez said the couple had postponed their wedding twice because of the pandemic.

In January, they were spotted canoodling at Mr Joe Biden's presidential inauguration, where Lopez performed.

REUTERS, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE