Marc Anthony to discuss his breakup on TV
ABC News correspondent John Quinones, left, speaks with singer and actor Marc Anthony. (Aug. 26, 2011) Credit: AP/ABC, Lou Rocco
In an interview that will air on "Nightline" Thursday night, Marc Anthony denied that extramarital affairs led to his breakup with Jennifer Lopez, while saying he still loves her.
"I'll tell you that it wasn't something sensationalistic happening," Anthony told ABC News' John Quiñones in an apparent reference to various tabloid reports that alleged a relationship with "HawthoRNe" co-star Jada Pinkett Smith, or -- per Us Magazine -- an affair with a flight attendant on a private plane.
"Absolutely not," he said, according to transcripts and a report late Wednesday on ABCNews.com, saying that "It was a realization on both our parts. So you know it wasn't shocking.
"These things happen. It was a decision that we made jointly.
Lopez filed for divorce July 15, ending their seven-year marriage and fueling some speculation that the breakup delayed Lopez's decision to return to "American Idol" next season as a judge.
"This is not a funeral. This is not a burial," Anthony said in an interview from his Brookville home -- so-called Casa Marc Anthony. "This is just two people who came together and just realized . . . I'm saying that it wasn't sustainable the way it was, and that's that."
He said he still loves Lopez, calling her a "wonderful, wonderful mother [to 3-year-old twins Max and Emme], a wonderful friend."
Quiñones wondered if the split was heartbreaking: "You think about the impact of all those people who believed in you, think about your family, think about the possibilities, but we realized very early that even though we're not together this story's not over. There's stuff to do together. There's life to see together through Max and Emme. So it's all good, man."
Portions of the interview will air Thursday morning on "Good Morning America."
