When Jennifer Lopez's Teenage Twins Were Curious To Know About Her Choices: "Why Is Mom Doing That?"

Editor's note: This article was originally published on June 23, 2023. It has since been updated.

In an interview with Vogue Mexico and Latin America, American singer, actress, and businesswoman Jennifer Lopez talked about what it's like to raise kids in the spotlight. The singer who is on the cover of the magazine's July issue spoke candidly about her relationship with her 15-year-old twins, Max and Emme.

"It's just different," she says. "You will always adore your children. There is an acceptance they have of you. And then as they get older, they start to wonder, 'Why are we doing this? Why is my mom doing that? Do I have to do it too?' That's where they start to challenge you. You probably remember when you were a teenager and you gave your mom a hard time," she continues. "And I don't think it's because they're not good kids. Rather they just want to know, to learn, they want answers."

According to Today, the versatile performer also discussed how her most recent movie, The Mother, altered her outlook on her connection with her twins as they grow older. "It's a very different relationship that you have to develop. And my children and I talk about it." She added that she also let her children grow up in the public eye. "And I think by doing The Mother it really helped me to over-analyze it, because when you're living your life you're not really analyzing it, but when you're working on a character, you go deeper into what they're going through."

Lopez shares her children with her former partner, Marc Anthony, per Today. She has previously spoken about the difficulties her children face as a result of having celebrity parents. "I think being the child of famous parents is really something many people can't understand, and I feel for them for that because they didn't choose that," Lopez said to the hosts of Audacy.

She continued, "They have just started letting me know how people treat them. So when they walk into the room, that's what people are thinking about. They're not seeing them for who they are. And I think that has to be a really hard thing for them. So I would love to have been able to protect them from that," she added.

The singer went on to say that her children must constantly suffer being "judged" by strangers. "I think it must be difficult for them to grow up and be themselves," she stated. "They know there is a lens on them. It's hard for them, I think, and I did that to them."

The actress, who is also a stepmother to her husband Ben Affleck's three children, expressed her desire to shield her children "from everything," but she also understood that difficulty is a natural part of growing up.

"You don't ever want them to feel a moment of pain in their lives, but that's not realistic," she explained. "You realize as you get older, okay, the pain is necessary. The pain is actually good. The pain kind of makes you feel a little bit like a warrior when you get through it."