Jennifer Lopez covers the September issue of InStyle Mag, which just further proves my theory that this year’s trend for September issues is “Meh, who cares?” I remember when the all magazines really tried to get interesting or unusual cover girls for their September issues. But this year has seen women like Penelope Cruz, Gwen Stefani, Lady Gaga and now J.Lo take big September covers – and no disrespect to all of those ladies, but none of them are big “gets” for any magazine. They are ALWAYS on magazine covers. Remember when Linda Evangelista made her triumphant return on the cover of the September Vogue, after she had been MIA for years? That was more than a decade ago, and I still remember it, that’s how powerful it was. And these days, it’s just like, “Meh, get J.Lo.” Anyway, enough bitching and moaning. Here are some excerpts from InStyle’s interview:

Jennifer on how she survives: “I live by the mantra that God doesn’t give you anything you can’t handle. You realize that those difficult moments, the times when you feel pain, are when you do a lot of your growing. You realize: There’s no reason to be terrified of things. Either way I’m going to be OK. At this point in my life. I’ve learned I can really survive things.”

She’s going to give love another shot, always: “The hard part is that you never stop believing in love. But that’s also the best part. You never stop believing, and you never, ever give up.”

Mom pressures: “I feel the pressures of wanting to be a great parent and of wanting to do right by my children. Being a mom, or a dad, is the most important job there is. It doesn’t matter who you are. You have to embrace it for everything that it is.”

Her secret to success: “Finding balance … You have to know what makes you happy – so your life is what you always dreamed it could be.”

She doesn’t give any quotes about Casper but “he is described in the article as sitting out one of her concerts at a soundboard.”

On men: “The most important quality the man in my life should have is that he is sweet. I like the good guys.”

[From People]

As much as I’d like to think that Jennifer’s refusal to discuss Casper Smart is some kind of harbinger of a potential breakup, I doubt it. Jennifer probably did this interview a few months ago, before all of the recent reports about Casper’s peep show/massage/gay cruising incident. Although the tabloids keep insisting that Casper and Jennifer will split soon, I just don’t think it will happen. Yet. Maybe I’m just trying to prepare myself for the worst. The worst = marriage.

Also: is it just me or does Jennifer sound particularly out of touch in this interview? I don’t have any problem believing she’s generally “out of touch” with the way regular people live, but she seemed particularly “Woe is me, my struggles are SO EPIC” in this interview. Get off the cross, J.Lo. People need the wood.

Photos courtesy of InStyle.