Move over, Xena — there's a new warrior princess in town! Jennifer Lopez took the plunge for Complex magazine's February/March issue, daring to bare her cleavage in a cut-to-there white bodysuit on the cover, and then diving headfirst into her personal issues in the accompanying interview.
Asked about her 2011 split from third husband Marc Anthony, the "Booty" singer, 45, said that while she initially felt like a failure, she ultimately learned she had to give herself a break. "It forces you to look at yourself in the best way possible," she explained.
"I'm grateful for all those trials and tribulations because with that you gain perseverance and the desire to learn and grow," she told the mag. "So I'm happy about those experiences now."
She continued: "They're painful in the moment, but now I see myself as a brave warrior princess who keeps going no matter what, and who has learned to cherish the things that matter in life, which is finding my own happiness first and then being able to share that with not just people in my life but with the world."
Lopez has indeed been sharing a lot of herself in recent months — too much, if you ask her haters. Some people have criticized the Boy Next Door star for her "Booty" video with Iggy Azalea, which puts her famous curves front and center.
"I'm not allowed to be sexy because I'm a mom?" she told Complex when asked about the criticism. "It's like, how do you think I got my children?"
Lopez doesn't want to do anything to embarrass her kids, of course, but she feels fine about the image she's putting out there now. "It's a good message for women," she explained. "I'm standing next to this girl who is 24 years old and I'm in my 40s and there's no difference. Women need to see that and feel that. You can't let the fear of what people might say or think stop you from doing what you want to do, or else we would never do anything."
