Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony can thank music for mending their relationship. The singer opened up about working with her ex-husband, 49, on her upcoming Spanish language album during an appearance on Spotify's ¡Viva Latino! podcast's debut episode on Thursday, November 30. "[Collaborating on the album] actually kind of repaired certain parts of our relationship that had been fractured from our marriage and our divorce and it kind of made us friends again," the 48-year-old confessed. "Like, because when we first started working together it's how we met." She added: "We remembered that like, ‘oh right, we connect on this level of music.' And we have that. And that's what the album came out of."
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The former couple, who share nine-year-old twins Max and Emme, split in 2011 after seven years of marriage. Aside from working with her ex on the album, Jennifer also recorded a version of Marc's 2013 song Vivir Mi Vida as a tribute to his mother Guillermina Quiñones, who passed away in July.
"The first thing that came to my mind, because Marc's mom had just passed away, you know, my kids' grandma, was Vivir Mi Vida. And I thought, I think that's a good song to sing right now," the Shades of Blue actress said. "But, in a different way. Not in the kind of up-tempo, rhythmic, salsa way that Marc did it, but in a way where you really hear the words to that song, which is, you know, you have one life and you have to live it."
Despite her success over the years, Jennifer noted that she has still managed to stay true to her roots. "I don't know if it was deliberate, I was just so proud of who I was that I never felt I had to shed that to fit into Hollywood or to make music," she said. "I was going to be Jenny from the block, always and Jenny from the block is, like we said, it's salsa, it's R&B, it's hip hop, it's pop, and all of that is what you get when you get me, and such a big part of that, [is] because I'm Puerto Rican and I grew up on rice and beans and I grew up on Spanish music, both my grandmas not speaking a word of English, is so part of who I am."
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Jennifer continued: "And so no matter where I go, even though I blend very well, I'm from the generation that blends very well into America, it's such a big part of who I am. So I just can't leave that behind or make believe that that's not part of who I am."