Long before Alex Rodriguez was engaged to Jennifer Lopez, he was married to a woman named Cynthia Scurtis. While both relationships fizzled romantically, it seems that Rodriguez is currently on good terms with his ex-wife.

Rodriguez and Scurtis met in Miami in the late 1990’s. They dated for several years before finally getting married in 2002. During their marriage, the couple welcomed two daughters, Natasha, who is now 17, and Ella, who is now 13. In 2008, Scurtis filed for divorce stating the reason “marital misconduct” and “emotional abandonment.” Her divorce petition read, “The marriage of the parties is irretrievably broken because of the husband’s extramarital affairs and other marital misconduct.” Scurtis accused Rodriguez of having an affair with Madonna. Madonna denied the claim.

In the end, Scurtis and Rodriguez decided to make their daughters their top priority. According to a statement from Rodriguez’s lawyer, “They deliberately engaged in a private negotiation. This was and remains a personal family matter for both of them. All of their decisions were based upon and guided by the best interests of their daughters.”

The exes seemed to be on good terms for the sake for their daughters for several years, even attending their children’s events together, but then, in 2018, they renegotiated child support, and they didn’t see eye to eye. However, by 2019, they seemed to have resolved their issues, and now, Rodriguez is even praising Scurtis for her parenting.

In a recent Instagram post in honor of his ex-wife’s birthday, Rodriguez wrote that he has “eternal respect and admiration” for Scurtis because of the positive way she is impacting the lives of their daughters. He called her “a wonderful mother and role model.”

Watch the video below to hear more about the touching things Rodriquez had to say about this ex-wife and to see some of the photos he shared in honor of her birthday.

Does it surprise you that Rodriguez is on such good terms with his ex-wife?