ABC/Paula Lobo(LOS ANGELES) — In a new cover story for InStyle, Jennifer Lopez says the “tabloid era” of the early 2000s was worse than today’s social media-obsessed celebrity culture.
“It was just crazy. Now at least I can show you who I am a little bit,” she says. “Back then you just believed anything you read on the cover of a tabloid. Many times it wasn’t true, or it was like a third of the truth.”
Her high-profile relationships of that time — notably with record mogul Sean Combs and actor/director Ben Affleck — were under much more scrutiny than her current relationship with baseball star Alex Rodriguez. Lopez says she believes social media has helped keep her and A-Rod’s romance off of TMZ.
“Now people get to see that this guy they thought was this hard-nosed athlete is, like, a goofy dad who loves his kids and celebrates his girlfriend,” she says.
Plus, they’re older and wiser now. “When we met, we’d both already done a lot of work on ourselves,” Lopez says.
J-Lo also makes it a point to work on her health and fitness, which is why she’s able to pose half-naked in just a green Valentino cape for In Style at age 49. She says she avoids caffeine and alcohol and gets a lot of sleep.
“I’ve taken care of myself, and now it shows,” she says.
Copyright © 2018, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.