Jennifer Lopez shared that her twins, Max and Emme, will soon be heading off to college – a change that she’s positively embracing. While speaking with Entertainment Tonight at the opening night of her ‘Up All Night Live in Las Vegas’ residency, the singer reflected on her 17-year-old kids flying the nest.
“I feel really good about it,” she said. “I’m like, [I] can’t believe that we’ve gotten here, you know, just the three of us. It’s, you know, been a journey for all three of us through this life [because] I was a single mom since they were 3 years old.”
She continued: “People have come in and out of my life, but it really has just been the three of us. And to see how they’re kind of like thriving right now and the adults, like young adults that they’re growing into, and they’re so ready for their life. They’re so ready to get out there and I remember what that felt like [at] 18.”
© Getty Images
Although Jennifer faces an empty nest, she expressed that she’s “so excited” for her twins to experience life independently. “I’m so excited for that because I know that they have this like, home for them to come home to that is solid and will be solid for them for the rest of their life, and they know that, even more importantly,” she said. “So they have that love and they can go out and do whatever they want.”
BACP-accredited therapist Billie Dunlevy spoke to us about empty nest syndrome. “Many parents, particularly women as they are often the primary carers, feel grief and a profound sense of loss when their remaining child or children move out,” she explained. “Some parents can experience a loss of purpose, an identity crisis and an increase in anxiety or depression.”
BACP-registered counsellor Georgina Sturmer told us that an empty nest can feel isolating: “Our homes feel quieter and we might feel as if we have left b