It's the milestone every parent dreads — and Jennifer Lopez is no exception. The global superstar, 56, has broken down in tears as she faces the prospect of an empty nest, with her twins Max and Emme set to head off to college in August.
'It's been the three of us. People have come in and out of my life, but it's been the three of us. They've always been there, and I've always been there.'
Speaking candidly on Watch What Happens Live, JLo admitted she simply never imagined what home would feel like without her kids in it. 'It's an emotional time,' she told the show — and honestly, same, Jennifer.
The Three of Us Against the World
Lopez shares Max and Emme with her ex-husband Marc Anthony, and the singer has been refreshingly honest about just how central her children have been to her life. Through the marriages, the break-ups, the headlines and the comebacks, it has always come back to those three.
The On the Floor singer's words carry extra weight given the very public rollercoaster of her personal life in recent years — including her headline-grabbing split from Ben Affleck. Whatever else has changed, her bond with her twins has remained the constant.
Downloading Every Life Lesson Before They Go
Determined to make the most of the time she has left with them at home, Lopez revealed she's been on a mission to pass on everything she knows — though she's wise enough to admit there are limits to that approach.
'I mean, they do what they see you do. So it's not so much what you tell them all the time,' she explained. 'Even though I'm trying to download everything I've ever learned in my life, every lesson I've ever learned, to them right now before they leave in August, I still feel like who you are as a person, how you act, what they see you do — if you work hard, they become more hard workers.'
She added with a knowing laugh that her kids aren't exactly rushing to follow in mum's famous footsteps. 'My kids [are like], "I don't want to be anything like you, I want to have my own path." They see this persona as such a thing,' she said. 'But I also see them pick up things that are the good traits about you.'
Growing Up in the Spotlight
Raising children in the glare of global fame is no small feat, and Lopez has long been protective of Max and Emme's privacy. Now 18, the twins have grown up navigating a world where their mother is one of the most recognisable women on the planet — yet JLo is clearly proud of the grounded, independent young people they've become, even as she mourns the chapter that's closing.
There's something quietly moving about one of the world's biggest pop stars admitting that no amount of sold-out tours or Hollywood blockbusters quite prepares you for the moment your children walk out the front door for the last time. For Jennifer Lopez, August is going to be a very long month.
