Barack Obama Congratulates Alex Rodriguez And Jennifer Lopez On Engagement
In one of those headlines that would have sounded kind of ridiculous ten years ago, former president Barack Obama has sent a note congratulating Alex Rodriguez and Jennifer Lopez on their recent engagement.
Rodriguez shared the handwritten note on his Twitter account early Friday, adding that “This means the world to us. #44.” The number is a reference to Obama having been the 44th president of the United States.
“Michelle and I just wanted to congratulate you on your engagement,” the former president’s note read. “After 26 years together, we can say that whatever challenges life may have, sharing them with someone you love makes it all better. All the best.”
The 43-year-old Rodriguez, who played 22 years in the major leagues and is now a baseball broadcaster and entrepreneur, and the long-famous singer and actress Lopez, who is 49, became engaged on March 9, with the large ring he presented causing jaws to drop, per ET Online.
Rodriguez was married once before, to Cynthia Scurtis, who is the mother of his two daughters. Lopez was formerly married to singer Marc Anthony, with whom she has a son and daughter.
In an interview with People earlier this month, the couple opened up about their engagement.
“We have [an] appreciation for where we are in our lives today, and that’s what we’re enjoying the most,” Rodriguez said.
This means the world to us.
#44 pic.twitter.com/TyIQTMAOpW— Alex Rodriguez (@AROD) March 22, 2019
Just over 10 years ago, when Obama had first been elected president and Rodriguez was in the news for accusations about the use of performance-enhancing drugs, the then-president said in 0n television that “if you’re a fan of Major League Baseball, I think it tarnishes an entire era, to some degree.”
“[I]t’s unfortunate, because I think there are a lot of ballplayers who played it straight,” Obama continued, per The Telegraph, which transcribed the comments he made about the issue in February 2009.
However, Rodriguez visited the White House with the Yankees after they won the World Series in 2009, and by last year, Obama and Rodriguez were on better terms and even posed for a picture together at the annual Sloan Sports Analytics Conference at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, per NJ.com. The photo was posted to Lopez’s Instagram, with the caption “Ooooh…just my Macho and Mr. President hanging out backstage.”
During the 2012 presidential campaign, Lopez made a campaign video on YouTube for a group called Latinos For Obama, saying in the video that Obama “has had our backs from the beginning” and that Latinos should have his back as well. She also appeared at a fundraiser for Obama that year and endorsed Hillary Clinton in 2016, performing a concert for the candidate in Florida.
