Jennifer Lopez opens up about motherhood, Scientology, and a “nervous breakdown” that she’s never publicly discussed.
Newly minted triathlete Jennifer Lopez has two new feature films in the works, a Disney ’tween series, a greatest hits album, and a globe-trotting fall schedule.
In a Beast exclusive, Kevin Sessums offers a snapshot of Lopez in a more contemplative mood this summer, four months after the birth of twins Max David and Emme Guadalupe.
When Kevin Sessums interviewed Lopez, who’s approaching 40, at the Long Island estate she shares with husband Marc Anthony, she looked as exhausted as any new mom: She’d caught a bug from her daughter and was feeling ill. But, ever the trouper, she agreed to go through with the interview anyway, opening up about Scientology (“the technologies that they have are very helpful”), breast-feeding (she didn’t), and a “nervous breakdown,” as she calls it, that she’s never publicly discussed. The interview was originally done for a major fashion magazine, which removed Sessums from the story after Lopez regretted some of her comments and asked that the story not be published. Below are excerpts—or click here for the full story from Kevin Sessums.
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J Lo on the Mommy Blues
“At the tenth day after giving birth all that chemical stuff did peak—that hormone thing—and I did cry a lot that day because I was having so much trouble moving. I couldn’t get up fast enough to feed the babies…Marc was helping out a lot and I was crying and crying and going, ‘Oh, Papi...they’re going to know everybody more than me…They’re going to love everybody more than me!’
On Her Breakdown
“I don't get nervous. I don't get depressed. Blah, blah, blah…There was a time when I was very overworked and I was doing music and movies and so many things. I was suffering from a lack of sleep. And I did have a kind of nervous breakdown. I froze up on a set. Well, not on a set, but in my trailer. I was like, ‘I don’t want to move. I don’t want to talk. I don’t want to do anything.’ It was on that movie Enough [in 2002]. Yeah. I did. I had a nervous breakdown.
“There were no signs leading up to it. You really don’t know what’s happening at first. I was going, ‘What’s going on?’ It was about five in the afternoon in my trailer and I just sat there. I remember telling my assistant at the time, Arlene, to go get the director, Michael Apted, and I asked if I could go home because I was feeling so sick and weird. I kept saying, ‘I’m not weak. I’m not weak.’ It’s funny what tricks your mind plays on you. I just didn’t want people to think I was falling apart. But when I look back on it now it’s so odd to me that those are the words I chose to say: ‘I AM NOT WEAK.’
“Michael let me off and when he left I just sat there and started crying and felt frozen. I didn’t want to move. My bodyguard, who had been with me for many years, picked me up and put me in the car and they took me to a doctor...Right away they want to give you pills. But I have never liked the idea of pills and kept saying no to that and just kept asking what was wrong with me. ‘I’ll tell you what’s wrong,’ the doctor said. ‘You’re sleep deprived. You’re overworked. Go home and go to bed.’ He told me to go back to work on Monday after a weekend of sleeping because if I waited longer that I would only get more panicked about working. So that’s what I did. I’ve still never been to a shrink. I’m not a shrinky person.”
John P. Avlon is the author of Independent Nation: How Centrists Can Change American Politics. He writes a weekly column for The Daily Beast and is a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute. Previously, he served as Chief Speechwriter for New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani and was a columnist and associate editor for The New York Sun.
Max Blumenthal is a senior writer for The Daily Beast and writing fellow at The Nation Institute, whose book, Republican Gomorrah (Basic/Nation Books), is forthcoming in Spring 2009. Contact him at maxblumenthal3000@yahoo.com.
The Daily Beast is dedicated to news and commentary, culture, and entertainment. We carefully curate the web’s most essential stories and bring you original must-reads from our talented contributors.
Kevin Buckley was a reporter and Saigon bureau chief for Newsweek between 1968 and 1972. He is the author of Panama—The Whole Story (Simon & Schuster, 1991). He is a contributing editor of Playboy and an adjunct professor at the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
Michael O'Hanlon specializes in national security policy at the Brookings Institution. He is senior author of the Iraq Index. As a defense budget analyst, he advised members of Congress on military spending.
Abby Ellin regularly writes the "Vows" column for the New York Times, and previously wrote the "Preludes" column for that newspaper about young people and money. Her work has appeared in a range of publications, including Time, Marie Claire, More, Self and Glamour. She is the author of Teenage Waistland, but her greatest claim to fame is naming “Karamel Sutra” ice cream for Ben and Jerry's.
Kevin Sessums is the author of the New York Times bestseller Mississippi Sissy, a memoir of his childhood. He was executive editor of Andy Warhol's Interview magazine and a contributing editor of Vanity Fair and Allure. He is a contributing editor of Parade. His new memoir, I Left It on Mountain will be published by St. Martins Press.
Kevin Sessums is the author of the New York Times bestseller Mississippi Sissy, a memoir of his childhood. He was executive editor of Andy Warhol's Interview magazine and a contributing editor of Vanity Fair and Allure. He is a contributing editor of Parade. His new memoir, I Left It on Mountain will be published by St. Martins Press.
Kevin Sessums is the author of the New York Times bestseller Mississippi Sissy, a memoir of his childhood. He was executive editor of Andy Warhol's Interview magazine and a contributing editor of Vanity Fair and Allure. He is a contributing editor of Parade. His new memoir, I Left It on Mountain will be published by St. Martins Press.
Kevin Sessums is the author of the New York Times bestseller Mississippi Sissy, a memoir of his childhood. He was executive editor of Andy Warhol's Interview magazine and a contributing editor of Vanity Fair and Allure. He is a contributing editor of Parade. His new memoir, I Left It on Mountain will be published by St. Martins Press.
Wow - that's really a different side of Jennifer Lopez. Interesting.
The woman married a 95 lb. skinny, inattractive nobody, and believes Scientology is "alright".
Nut job...she should be opening for Sarah Palin...
What? She is Gatsby? Please leave Fitzgerald and The Great Gatsby out of this...how dare he!!!
It wouldn't surprise me if she gave a large amount to scientology.. How sad she is friends with so many in scientology.. Her poor kids, even worse, to have that surrounding them..
Give her a break. She's still Jenny from the block, once she had a little, now she has a lot - of attitude.
J-lo, it is normal and ok to feel different after delivery. rest is the key k. take care of yourself and remember get some rest sometimes.
Am I the only one who's shocked at how poorly Lopez expresses herself? I didn't expect a Nobel prize winner but not an 8th grader either...a little less "and then I go and then he goes", please.
I believe those of you who leave hateful comments are just a bunch of haters. We have a saying in spanish "para los gustos se cieron los colores". What does it matter to you, no, what does anything have to do with her husband looks? I don't care what anyone says -- the woman has got to be smart to be in the position she is in. You may not consider her the best in everything, but who is? She certainly does have something that those who criticize don't have -- and that is she minds her business and takes care of business.
does anyone care about jlow any more?
Also wanted to add that Marc Anthony is not considered a "nobody" in the Latin community.
I'm no fan of Lopez but I can not STAND little queens either.
Kevin Sessums, I'd like to know how you determined Lopez's hair was unwashed.
Lopez doesn't look that great with a full face of makeup, it's not hard to imagine she looks worse without all the warpaint.
But unwashed?
C'mon man, that's lame.
She's real
First, I think it was exhaustion, not a nervous breakdown. Those usually last longer & need professional help. So I'll give her cred for doing too much & I hope she knows how to pace herself now. The breast feeding - she probably didn't want to "ruin" her breasts! AND she probably couldn't move after 10 days because of the tummy tuck they did while they were at it! After a regular C section, 10 days out, she should have been moving really well. Doctors get you up the next day. A tummy tuck however will slow a person down for a while. Just be honest about it. Not many people are going to criticize an entertainer for having plastic surgery after twins. I do however resent when the stars aren't honest about it. AND THE $6 MILLION: there's no way to justify that or make it better. YOU SOLD YOUR KIDS DOWN THE RIVER AND IT WAS DISGUSTING !!!!! I really lost respect for that. So now we know J Lopez & M Anthony's kids are worth 6 mil. Mine wouldn't be for sale at any price. It was VERY LOW CLASS OF THEM.
The interview is a fake;first Elle hired this "reporter" to write the profile of jlo,but after they read this sensationalist garbage he was pulled from the story and they put another writer.So he posted the story here.A spokesperson of Jennifer said they don�t know anything about a nervous breakdown,so probably the most part of the story are imagining things of this poor writer...The interview sounds fake and non-professional
Here�s the information:
http://www.starpulse.com/news/index.php/2008/10/08/jennifer_lopez_denie s_nervous_breakdown
http://www.imdb.com/news/ni0580240/
While making a movie six or seven years ago, Jenn reportedly began feeling stressed by many other projects competing for attention. She wasn't sleeping enough. There's a clip of her talking about it on a rerun of "True Hollywood Story", but I don't remember her calling it a "nervous break-down". Whether meant as a figure of speech or for real: it's her privacy, her life, and her right to change her mind, jmho. But if it had been authentic: would the person be back at work that Monday?
The 2008 October issue of Elle includes an interview of Jennifer by Peter Rubin. I like his writing style, and that his focus is on Jenn. Boundaries are respected and healthy. I think Elle went with the right article. . Where was the common thread between the first writer's interview (that wound up in 'Beast') and Elle's photoshoot and cover of Jennifer, also part of the issue. Kevin Sessums' focus begins with the writer's point of view; the subject follows. Kevin jumped from one thing to another. What was he looking for? A scoop or headline, perhaps. I didn't sense an interest in fashion or style (remember whom Elle gave the job to, first). There's a photoshoot of Jenn he must have seen at some point. He noted her face was flushed (feverish), but no slack does he cut her. So-called fashion icons are people; they get sick too, lol. Was he expecting a spiffy entrance and make-up to try camouflaging her fever? Another Catch 22, perhaps. More interested in an expose? Too critical describing the appearance of a sick mother of two infants, who's willing to accommodate him, as a guest in her home. Something like: "her (color of hair) swept back in a pony tail, without make-up, wearing a comfortable (color) track set", e.g, would have read as far more authentic.
I'll end with this exchange, which was the most telling for me: The writer in 'Beast' was on the edge of nagging her about nursing her baby (a personal decision, and already documented in People). Jennifer offered to explain to him if they could speak "off-the-record". He declined. . Relationships? Liz Smith understands.
According to this exclusive, Jennifer Lopez is not a Scientologist but wouldn't mind sending her kids to a scientology school? Very interesting. I think there is some persuasion since she admits her father has been practicing this for 20 years and many of her friends like Leah Remini. The cool new site Predicto.com is polling on whether J.Lo will announce she is a Scientologist by the end of the year. I voted NO because I don't think she will ever admit it because it creates a negative image, like she said in this interview.
Jennifer Lopez is pathetic. As a Latina myself I am embarrassed and appalled at her behavior. She gives us Latinos a bad name. Jumping from husband to husband, selling her children for money, marrying a cocaine addict (and u wonder why he's so skinny), etc. The list goes on. Jennifer you've had your 15 minutes of fame. Next.
Not all people who experience success become targets. She makes herself a target when she acts the way she does. She is very lucky to have the fame and success, and I'm sure she's worked hard to get where she is, but when she acts as ugly as she does it doesn't seem like she appreciates her fans.
And that's where the "Diva" label comes from, not the fact that she's successful (or that people are jealous).
The Scientology connection is heartbreaking. She is a sweet woman with tons of talent and great heart. That type of self hypnotism will just keep her from maturing emotionally. Too bad.
This is to DivineCubanone, first of all you are not speaking for the latinas, you are speaking for yourself because you know damn well that you hate her because you are cuban and you hate the fact that she is a very successful Puerto Rican American. Stop the hating and get on with your life! If you can't go back to Cuba then try Africa where your ancestors are from. You are simply a pathetic jealous marielita. Don't even try to put yourself in the same category as Puerto Ricans.......like you said you are a Latina, just keep it that way!We were here before you so get over it.
Thank you.
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