Jennifer Lopez shed light on some of her toxic past relationships in her new documentary, “The Greatest Love Story Never Told,” where she says she was once “manhandled” by a partner.
As the documentary follows the making of her original musical film, “This Is Me … Now: A Love Story,” Lopez reveals how she felt trapped in unhealthy, and even dangerous, situations when she was younger.
The emotional admission comes after shooting the video for her song “Rebound,” where the star dances and fights with her on-screen love interest.
After putting on an intense performance, a drained looking Lopez walks away from the set and tells cameras, “I’m glad that one’s behind us.”
“Being thrown around and manhandled like that is not fun,” Lopez explains while being driven home.
“I was never in a relationship where I got beat up, thank God,” she clarified. “But I’ve definitely been manhandled and a couple of other unsavory things. Rough. Disrespectful.”
Reflecting more during a phone call with close friend and producing partner, Elaine Goldsmith-Thomas, the “Hustlers” star says, “More than anything, it’s really a vulnerable place to be in every day. That’s why I go to work every day, and I’m like, ‘What am I doing?’”
“It’s a personal journey” which “will relate to so many women who are abused,” Goldsmith-Thomas tells her. “You’re talking about how we accept less than we deserve.”
The singer didn’t share who had “manhandled” her, nor did she offer any other details that would hint at who she was talking about.
In “This Is Me … Now: A Love Story,” Lopez explores her love life and relationship with herself through an imaginative combination of flashbacks, dream sequences and sit downs with her therapist, played by rapper Fat Joe.
Made to accompany her new record, “This Is Me… Now,” the visual album also features appearances from Lopez’s now-husband, Ben Affleck, Jane Fonda, Sofia Vergara and Neil deGrasse Tyson, among others.
Both “This Is Me … Now: A Love Story” and the documentary, “The Greatest Love Story Never Told” are available now on Amazon Prime Video.
Need help? In the U.S., call 1-800-799-SAFE (7233) for the National Domestic Violence Hotline.