Marry Me comes out on February 12th, right before Valentine’s Day and right in the middle of what was supposed to be an exciting awards season (almost every awards show was pushed back). We were supposed to be knee-deep in cute red carpet photos of Jennifer Lopez supporting Ben Affleck as he stormed the awards shows, picking up trophies for Best Supporting Actor for The Tender Bar. But here we are – a different kind of promotional tour, but J.Lo can adapt. She appears on the cover of this week’s People Magazine and she really went old-school confessional about her relationship. Good for her! Life’s too short to be coy. J.Lo knows her fans are rooting for her, so she’s giving us what we want. Some highlights from the interview:

Her inner peace: “I’ve never been better. It’s just that we’re all in a very beautiful moment.”

Ben Affleck is the reason for her joy: “I feel so lucky and happy and proud to be with him,” she says, reflecting on their rekindled romance from the sun-drenched room in her house that’s become Affleck’s office when he’s there. “It’s a beautiful love story that we got a second chance.”

Reconnecting with an old lover, and how it’s different now: They “had a little bit of fear,” says Lopez, acknowledging the circus that surrounded them the first time around. “Before we kind of put [our relationship] out there and we were naïve and it got a little trampled.” This time, she says, “We both were like, ‘Wow, we’re so happy and we don’t want any of that to come into play again.’ We’re older now, we’re smarter, we have more experience, we’re at different places in our lives, we have kids now, and we have to be very conscious of those things. We’re so protective because it is such a beautiful time for all of us. I just feel very happy and lucky to be in a relationship that’s happy and loving, and I want to do everything I can to protect that and keep it safe. It deserves that, it really does. … We hold it sacred.”

More on what’s different with Ben now: “It’s beautiful the way it feels very different than it was years ago. … There’s more of an appreciation and a celebration for it, which is nice,” says Lopez, who treasures their second chance at love. “When you find somebody and you really, really love them and you get a second chance at that? That is a really rare, precious, beautiful thing and we don’t take it for granted.”

On their kids: While she agrees it can be delicate bringing kids into any new relationship, she says, “I honestly believe that love rules all. Love always conquers everything — relationships, kids, work, work relationships. It’s all about how loving, open and accepting you can be. Not having an ego about things and just embracing all the good, always looking at the positive. When you’re in a good, healthy relationship, everybody benefits from that. Everybody.”

Ben has put in the work on himself: “I’m so proud of the him, I’m so proud of the man he’s become that I’ve watched from afar. Being honest with each other, being loving, that’s just the basis of everything. I feel like he’s at a place in his life where — just like how I feel about myself — it’s been a journey of learning yourself and figuring yourself out, getting to a place where you feel really good on your own and who you are so you can be in a happy, healthy relationship. To see the person, the human being, the man that he is today, the father that he is today, the partner that he is — he is so everything I always knew he was and wanted to be.”

Real-life fairy tales: Real-life fairy tales can be “a tricky thing,” Lopez allows, but she’s still a believer. “What I can teach my children is that real love exists. Some things can be forever, but it doesn’t mean they just have a straight line.”

What the future holds: “I just want my future to be full of love and happiness, with my children and my partner. I think everybody just wants to be happy, with somebody to go on the journey with and grow old with, and I feel good about that right now.”

[From People]

I don’t believe love conquers all, but I believe that J.Lo is truly happy right now and that she’s all-in with Ben, so much so that she can barely see straight. The way she’s embiggening him too! LOL, I love her. She could fall for the most problematic scrub in the world and she would still be this effusive and positive. She always had love-blinders in every relationship, but with Ben, she really couldn’t see anything bad in him, ever. I also appreciate that she’s largely side-stepping the engagement/marriage questions – this interview is completely on her terms, and she consciously chose to refer to him as her “partner” – not boyfriend, not fiance. In her mind, they’re really in it for the long haul. We’ll see, J.Lovers.

Photos courtesy of Backgrid, cover courtesy of People.