Jennifer Lopez is Marie Claire

Jennifer on her exes

The tabloid response to the Bennifer phenomenon made it seem like it was just another arm of Lopez Enterprises. Inside, however, Jennifer says it was very real.

'The tabloids covered those times heavily, but when I look back I know those were real parts of my life. That's what maybe confused people - it seemed like something that was made up and crazy, but there was real genuine feeling in all those relationships.'

Does she keep in touch or follow their careers?

'Would I see a movie of Ben’s? Sure! Why not? I haven't seen him or talked to him in a while - our lives went in two very different directions. But I always wish him the best and I always thought he was a great person. And Sean - I've run into him once or twice, with Marc, and it's always very friendly. He asks about the twins because he has twins too. Again, I always wish him the best.'

Lopez knows how to tow a diplomatic line, a skill no doubt picked up after years of ugly scrutiny. She understands that today’s negative comment is tomorrow’s headline news, so prefers to keep things civil and... nice. When asked whether she approves of some of the edgier artists, like Gaga and Rihanna, who have come to the fore since her hiatus her response is unequivocal: 'I love them all. Honestly.'

On her reputation as a diva

We talk about her reputation as something of a diva. A week earlier, at the marie claire cover shoot, there had been much delicious speculation as to exactly which Jennifer Lopez would turn up on the day. One of the studio technicians claimed he'd worked with her ten years previously, when, she allegedly demanded four separate rooms for changing, each adorned with a different type of particular flower. In the event she arrived accompanied by minimal, was incredibly warm and friendly to all, and, in the afternoon, even brought along her twins to watch their very famous mom in action.

So was there any truth in rumours such as insisting her coffee has to be stirred the right way or her hotel room bed must be strewn with feathers? 'No!' she laughs. 'I mean.... when you're in our position and working as much as I was at that time people try to make you very comfortable, because you're the worker - and they want you to keep working.'

While we’re telling the truth – was your bum ever insured for millions of dollars?

'No! Though I thought that story was funny. In fact, we traced that story, and that was a rumour that started in London.'

We're an evil people.

'I didn't say evil!'

Cheeky then...

'No pun intended.'

Did she secretly love all the attention?

'I honestly at that time was in such a work fog I didn't even notice. Now that I've had time to sit I appreciate and love everything in a different way, and I think that's because of the kids too. I just think of life in a different way: back then it was just about the grind.'

She says it was time to live, to become a real person once again, that in the bubble of work you’re not really living. She talks of being an artist and replenishing her artistic soul; to be able to draw on life’s experiences so in turn she can channel those experiences back into her art.

On the frenzied fascination with her curves, her derriere in particular,

Of all the fuss, she recalls: 'I was always very comfortable with who I was. Confident. I've never looked at myself [my body] in a negative way.'

Nowadays she likes to do weights, and run through the horse trails of her new neighbourhood. Then there’s the food...

'Just like anybody I try to watch what I eat - there's no big science to it, which is what sucks. One of the good tricks is to have a goal – for me it may be getting in shape for a video shoot. The other is portion control. I love to eat everything and you pretty much can - a little piece of something fattening is not going to kill you. It's when you eat the whole box that it's going to kill you. If you can learn to not eat till your stomach feels full and gross, then you can pretty much control your life in that area.'

Had she not had a husband, would she have considered becoming a single mother?

'For me, I always had the fairy tale in my head where you get married, have kids and do all that kind of stuff,' she says. 'But I also think it's a wonderful thing for women who haven’t had babies and get to a point in their lives and have that option. As a woman, I think it's the best thing that can ever happen to you.'

On Marc Anthony

Prior to that, the best thing that happened to Jennifer was living her very own Harry Met Sally by navigating that treacherous route from friend to lover with latin singing superstar Marc Anthony, the man who’d been her confidante for many years.

'I think there was always this very strong chemistry with Marc and I from the very beginning, and he was always letting me know that,' she says. 'Since we first met I always felt that, if I got into trouble, he was the one person I could call and he would always be there. That to me is love in its purest form.'

I ask if moving from friend to lover was an awkward journey. She says no, that there was always an attraction there, and lets slip that it wasn’t the first time they’d ever been romantic.

'We kind of did [get together] in the beginning,' she admits. 'We saw each other for a little bit, then kind of went our separate ways for many years because we were both in different places in our lives. Now we have the kind of love with no question mark.'