Jennifer Lopez’s love life flourished when she learned to love herself.
The 49-year-old singer-and-actress – who was previously married to Ojani Noa Cris Judd and Marc Anthony, engaged to Ben Affleck and dated P. Diddy and dancer Casper Smart – admitted her personal life has seen a lot of "ups and downs" but she thinks that was down to her feelings about herself and now she’s in a "better place", things are much better.
Jennifer – who has been dating Alex Rodriguez for almost two years – told America’s Harper’s Bazaar magazine: "For me, the relationship journey has been very up and down, but it didn’t have to do with anybody else but me — it was about me figuring out me. Until you learn to love yourself, you can’t completely love [someone else] in a way that is pure and true.
"Once you do that, you can have relationships that are based on love and respect, that are supportive and nourishing. There’s an evolution there that had to happen for me. I feel like I’m in a better place now."
The ‘Get Right’ hitmaker – who has 10-year-old twins Emme and Max with Marc – admitted it can be difficult experiencing breakups in the public eye and it’s "hard" not to pay attention to negative stories about herself.
She said: "You’re trying to do your best and people are putting you down, or trying to make believe you’re not a nice person, or you’re a diva, I’m always like, ‘Who are you talking about?’"
"I feel very proud that I’ve survived as long as I have in this business, at this point in my life, I’m trying to give myself more credit.
"It’s hard when people are always telling you that you’re not good at things or saying, ‘Why is she successful?’ You get a lot of that when you’re a successful woman."
Jennifer Lopez on learning to love herself
