Singer-actress Jennifer Lopez has opened up about the emotional reality of her 18-year-old twins Max and Emme preparing to leave for college in August, admitting she has ‘never thought’ about what home life will look like once they move out. Speaking candidly on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen, the 56-year-old star described the impending departure as one of the most emotionally charged periods of her life.

An Emotional Chapter for Lopez

Lopez, who shares Max and Emme with ex-husband Marc Anthony, reflected on the singular bond she has built with her children over the years. ‘It’s an emotional time. 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,’ she said.

She added that the prospect of an empty home had simply never crossed her mind until now. ‘I just never thought they would not be there. I just never thought that far ahead. I thought, too, that they’re so independent. I’ve given them roots and wings,’ Lopez said.

Parenting Philosophy: Actions Over Words

Lopez also spoke about the parenting lessons she has absorbed over nearly two decades of raising her twins. She noted that children absorb behaviour far more readily than verbal instruction — a realisation that has shaped how she has approached motherhood.

‘They do what they see you do. It’s not so much what you tell them all the time. 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 said.

The Mirror Effect: Picking Up Good Traits

Despite Max and Emme being eager to carve out their own identities, Lopez has noticed them quietly absorbing her better qualities — even as they insist on forging independent paths.

‘They mimic you in this weird way and learn from you, even though they act like they’re opposite to you. My kids are like, I don’t want to be anything like you. I want to have my own path. They see this persona and it’s such a thing. But I also see them — not mimic, but just pick up things that are the good traits about you,’ she said.

Two Months of Tears Before Graduation

This is not the first time Lopez has publicly processed her feelings about this milestone. In May, she revealed she had been ‘crying for two months’ ahead of her twins’ graduation — underscoring how deeply the transition has affected her. The back-to-back admissions paint a picture of a mother navigating one of parenthood’s most universal turning points: the moment a household of three quietly becomes one.

As August approaches, Lopez appears to be leaning into the bittersweet — proud of the independence she helped cultivate, even as she reckons with the silence it will leave behind.