Some praised its musical direction, deeming it her strongest album to date, whilst others criticized its production and Lopez's vocal performance.

It also reached the top ten in countries such as Canada, France, Germany, Japan, the Netherlands, Sweden, and Switzerland, selling over 6 million copies worldwide.

[3] The album's lead single, "Jenny from the Block" featuring Styles P and Jadakiss of The Lox, became an international success, peaking at three in the United States.

[4][5] In June 2002, Lopez split from her former back-up dancer Cris Judd to pursue a relationship with Academy Award winning actor and director, Ben Affleck, "Hollywood's Golden Boy".

"I wrote a lot of songs inspired, in a way, by what I was going through at the time that this album was being made, and he was definitely a big part of that," she told MTV News.

'"[17] Lopez dedicated the album to Affleck, with the words "You are my life ... my sole inspiration for every lyric, every emotion, every bit of feeling on this record" written on the disc jacket.

According to Lopez, she attempts to "elicit a similar feeling" in her own songwriting from these artists' songs on the album, because they made her "heart sing".

[17] Lopez was drawn to the "contagious" melodies of Michael Jackson's album Off the Wall (1979), which led her to summon the record's mixer and engineer, Bruce Swedien, to work on This Is Me... Then.

[18] Boston Globe's Steve Morse wrote, "[the] love affair has fired up Hollywood and now pop listeners can now share the vibe.

"[26] Entertainment Weekly described it as having a Minnie Riperton sound,[27] while The Guardian noted the musical influence of Diana Ross and likened its sensuality to Marvin Gaye's Let's Get It On (1973).

[1] The album's opening song, "Still" is built around a sample from Teddy Pendergrass' "Set Me Free", and its lyrics concern an ex-lover.

[28] "Loving You" samples Mtume's "Juicy Fruit" and George Benson's "Never Give Up on a Good Thing", while the ballad "I'm Glad" incorporates a part of Schooly D's "P.S.K.

[35] "All I Have", a duet with LL Cool J which samples Debra Law's "Very Special", is a breakup song, and has been noted to conjure up her publicized split with Combs.

On September 26, 2002, a song entitled "Jenny from the Block" by Lopez featuring Styles P and Jadakiss of The LOX was leaked online.

Rooney and Lopez initially wanted a song titled "Glad" to be the album's lead single, but Mottola favored "Jenny from the Block".

"[39] "Jenny from the Block" went on to experience international commercial success, peaking within the top ten in the United States as well as over twelve other countries.

According to The Spectator, "Before celebrities become stars, they dream about gaining fame, fortune, and being in the spotlight [...] The video is basically about how she cannot find privacy with her fiance Ben Affleck.

Considered "the video that killed Ben Affleck's career", the actor stated, years after his engagement to Lopez ended, that he regretted filming it.

[45] Not only did it become the album's second consecutive top-ten single in the United States, "All I Have" became Lopez's fourth song to top the Billboard Hot 100.

Laws later filed a lawsuit in 2003 against Lopez, LL Cool J and Sony Music Entertainment for "misappropriating her voice and name" in the song.

The lawsuit was dropped, and Laws was advised to sue her own label and publisher for "breach of contract for entering a license agreement without her authorization".

[50] Unlike its predecessors, "I'm Glad" failed to enter the top ten in the United States, while performing moderately in the international market.

[41] Its accompanying music video was a remake of the 1983 film Flashdance which was based on Maureen Marder's life, who was a "construction worker by day and dancer by night".

[51] That August, "Baby I Love U" was released as the album's fourth and final single, but failed to gain notable chart recognition.

[54] On September 27, 2002, a spokesperson for Lopez revealed that she planned to take a break from acting to launch a tour in support of This Is Me... Then in April 2003.

[57] Writing for Billboard magazine, Michael Paoletta gave This Is Me... Then a favorable review, stating that "even naysayers will have to serve props to Lopez for the considerable growth she reveals as both a performer and tune-smith".

[2] Tom Sinclair of Entertainment Weekly stated "the girl has a way with hooks, even if they're often borrowed", and audiences are "seduced by the breezy pleasure of her new music".

"[33] Slant Magazine's Sal Cinquemani on the other hand gave the album a favorable review stating that "This Is Me...Then manages to find the right formula for Lopez's slinky vocal and is more unified than its predecessors".

[72] Throughout February 2003, the album continued to perform strongly, averaging close to 80,000 copies sold each week, while remaining in the top ten.

[79] However, This Is Me... Then remained on the ARIA Charts until July 6, 2003, allowing it to be certified platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association for shipments of over 70,000 units.