Jennifer Lopez allegedly wanted to create the illusion that she and her former co-star Ryan Guzman were more than friends to promote their 2015 film, “The Boy Next Door,” his ex Melanie Iglesias claims.
“She made my ex, oh my God, pretend that he was single to promote the movie,” the Maxim model alleged in a recent episode of the “No Chaser” podcast.
“The publicists, both of them, called me … so they were at afterparties together, like, holding hands and stuff to promote this.”
Although Iglesias, 36, did not name Guzman, also 36, she dated and walked red carpets with the Texas-born actor at the same time that he was doing press junkets with Lopez, now 54, for their movie.
In the thriller romance, Guzman played the “If You Had My Love” singer’s much-younger love interest.
Page Six reported ahead of the movie’s release in January 2015 that the co-stars had been spotted cozying up to one another at a Golden Globes afterparty — just as Iglesias said was part of the plan.
“At one point, Ryan moved back on the couch and then he put his arm around Jennifer,” an insider claimed at the time, adding, “They also left together.”
Reflecting on the situation, Iglesias added on the podcast, “It was just, like, that sucks,” before recalling when Lopez even pretended she didn’t know whether Guzman had a girlfriend in real life when asked about it on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show.”
In a clip of the segment in question from the now-defunct talk show, Ellen DeGeneres asks the “I’m Real” singer whether there was “anything going on” between her and the hunky actor, to which she says “no.”
However, when pushed further about whether Guzman had a girlfriend at the time, Lopez responds, “I think he might? I’m not sure. I know he did.… I’m not in his business like that.”
DeGeneres, now 66, then quips, “Not yet,” to which the “Selena” star cheekily adds, “You never know.”
“We’ve met,” Iglesias pointed out on “No Chaser,” noting why Lopez should have confirmed Guzman was actually a taken man.
“We friggin’ met. What do you mean you don’t know if he had a girlfriend? We met. You squeezed the s–t out of my hand. I’m still black and blue.”
The “Guy Code” alum further revealed that she was disappointed when Guzman first introduced her to Lopez at an awards show because it seemed the “Enough” star had been trying to intimidate her.
“I always felt she was someone to aspire towards,” Iglesias, who like Lopez is a Puerto Rican-American from New York City, explained. “She was someone who anything she wanted to accomplish she did.
“She met me, and she looked me up and down, and she gave me the hardest, firmest handshake in the world. I was like, ‘Ow! I’ll have my hand back, Jesus.’”
Iglesias said she then thought to herself after the uncomfortable meeting, “That’s sad because you’re someone I love, like, it shouldn’t be like that.”
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Despite Lopez leaving a bad taste in her mouth, the ex-MTV personality agreed to play along with the “Booty” singer’s alleged PR relationship with her then-boyfriend — until he started coming home late.
“I was OK with that until it wasn’t OK … until, you know, coming home at 2 in the morning, I don’t know,” Iglesias said.
The aspiring comic, whose romance with Guzman ended a few months after “The Boy Next Door” was released, then added, “I wouldn’t do that.”
Iglesias concluded, “I also feel like, where’s your faith in the movie? You know what I mean? Why do you have to act like you’re with everyone that you’re in a movie with. … I don’t get it.”
Page Six has reached out to reps for both Lopez and Guzman but did not immediately hear back. Neither Guzman nor Lopez have admitted to having a relationship during this time.
This is not the first time, however, that there have been suspicions about Lopez’s relationship status around the time “The Boy Next Door” came out.
A March 2015 report speculated whether the “Let’s Get Loud” singer had actually called it quits with her then-boyfriend Casper Smart as she had stated in the press.
Sources told TMZ at the time that producers wanted Lopez and Smart, 37, to pretend not to be together to be free to promote their individual projects.
However, the jig was up when the duo were seen spending time together at numerous events, including a dinner following a GQ magazine event.
Lopez, who is now married to Ben Affleck, has been recently been called out for a series of controversies, including her alleged lack of allegiance to the Bronx, which has seemingly contributed to poor ticket sales for her rebranded “This Is Me: Live | The Greatest Hits” tour.
