Multi-hyphenate superstar Jennifer Lopez, recently opened up about her biggest parenting regret.
Despite her storied career and fame, she admitted that the same success that brought her acclaim has cost her teenage twins Max and Emme, 15, a normal childhood.
The "Mother" star shared her feelings of "guilt" over the lives her children have had to lead in the public eye during an interview with Audacy.
"I think being the child of famous parents is not something many people can understand, and I feel for [my kids] for that because they didn’t choose that,” she expressed.
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Now 15, Emme and Maximilian are beginning to understand how their mother's fame impacts their own lives. Jennifer noted that people often fail to see her children for who they truly are, focusing more on their celebrity status.
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The singer confessed: "And I think that has to be a really hard thing for them. So I would love to be able to protect them from that.”
During the interview, Lopez spoke candidly about the issue of her children, shared with ex-husband Marc Anthony, being "judged" by strangers.
The Grammy winner explained, "Everybody has to deal with being bullied. It doesn’t matter who you are, you can get bullied.”
The twins are constantly aware of the public lens on them, adding to the pressure.
Despite the guilt she feels over this dynamic, J-Lo does not plan on sheltering Emme and Maximilian from every negative aspect of life.
Instead, she advocates for resilience, arguing that enduring hardships is part of personal growth. "The pain is necessary. The pain is actually good,” she explained. “The pain kind of makes you feel a little bit like a warrior when you get through it."
The conversation took place while Jennifer was promoting her new Netflix movie, "The Mother," an action thriller where she portrays a hit woman.
When her personal life was brought up, she acknowledged the reality that her celebrity status often precedes her children.
She admitted that she would have loved to protect them from the judgments of strangers and the lens of fame.
The singer and actress also touched on the pressure of being a non-traditional mom in the public eye. "I’m not a traditional mom. I’m not a, you know, stay-at-home mom. I’m a single mom. I’m a working mom." she said.
The added layer of fame complicates her role even more, admitting, "I’m kind of a famous mom, which is a weird thing for kids too. So I have a whole set of things that is not normal, what people think of as not normal."
Jennifer’s new movie, "The Mother," was released on May 12, just two days before Mother's Day and quickly reached the number one spot on Netflix.
Despite the challenges, she continues to celebrate motherhood and family.
She spent Mother's Day in a blended family celebration with her husband, Ben Affleck, who is a father to three children and their moms.
The couple were joined by both of Jennifer's twins, as well as Seraphina, 14, one of the three children Ben shares with his ex-wife, Jennifer Garner.
Seraphina's siblings Violet, 17, and Samuel, 11, were not in attendance, presumably because they were marking the holiday with their mother.
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