Jennifer Lopez sat down with Vanity Fair for an exclusive interview in their upcoming September issue. In the article, she discusses her recent split from Marc Anthony. When talking about marriage, she said:

“That was my biggest dream, and I really worked hard at it. We both did. Sometimes it doesn’t work — and that’s sad. But I remain an eternal optimist about love. I believe in love. It’s still my biggest dream. I am positive — determined to move forward with my life, bring up my babies, and do the best job I can as a mother, entertainer, and person. I now look forward to new challenges. I feel strong.”

Despite the unfortunate outcome of her union, J. Lo’s still believes in love.

“I’m a hopeless romantic and passionate person when it comes to love. It’s not that I didn’t love myself before. Sometimes we don’t realize that we are compromising ourselves. To understand that a person is not good for you, or that that person is not treating you in the right way, or that he is not doing the right thing for himself — if I stay, then I am not doing the right thing for me. I love myself enough to walk away from that now.”

She went on to say that she will always respect Marc Anthony (at least as an artist!)

“I will always respect Marc as a singer and performer. We actually work great together, and he was always very supportive. Together we could make magic — and we did. He will always be in our lives. He will always hold a special place in my heart as the father of my children.”