Actress-singer Jennifer Lopez has shared harrowing details of a health scare that left her temporarily blind and paralyzed. The 56-year-old star revealed that her body "shut down" after she pushed herself too hard, working 98 consecutive days without a break while filming her 2002 movie 'Enough'.
The Collapse on Set
Appearing on the SmartLess podcast, Lopez described the moment she realized something was wrong. "I had done like four movies in a row. I had recorded my second album, my JLo album which was really big. I was working, filming every day. All the hours then I would go into the studio at night and at the weekend I would have junkets or video shoots or whatever," she said.
She added, "I remember not clocking that I had worked 98 days in a row without taking a day off. 'Cos we went back and counted 'cos we were like: 'What happened?'"
One day on the set of 'Enough', she felt a strange sensation. "Every time I'm walking to the set I'm getting a little, pitter patter in my heart. It's like rising. Finally it got to the point when I really feel nervous. And I had the little girl (playing her daughter) in 'Enough'. I had to say, 'I'm really sorry sweetie, I'm feeling really weird today, a little tired or something' and she's like 'It's ok you'll be alright'. But I wasn't alright."
The Terrifying Moment
Lopez recalled the frightening incident: "And I went back to the trailer and I sat down and all of a sudden I just couldn't see. I couldn't see clearly, something went over my eyes and I couldn't move. And one of my girlfriends who was (working as) my assistant. I said to her Arlene I can't move, I can't see. She goes: 'Stop it Jennifer you're scaring me'. I said: 'No I can't move, you should get somebody get BOB my security guard. I can't move and I can't see'. He picked me up and put me in the car and we went to the hospital."
At the hospital, doctors diagnosed her with exhaustion. "I said to the doctor, 'Am I going crazy?' And he's like, 'No. You're not crazy. You've shut down'."
A Changed Perspective
Lopez emphasized that she now takes much better care of herself. Following the breakdown of her marriage to Ben Affleck, she realized she needed to focus on healing and self-love. The experience taught her the importance of balance and listening to her body.
