Jennifer Lopez Reveals How She’s Spending Her Final Days at Home With Twins Emme and Max Ahead of Their ‘Emotional’ Departure to College

Hollywood star Jennifer Lopez has opened up about the "emotional" process of preparing her 18-year-old twins, Max and Emme, for college—while admitting that she is spending the teens' final days at home trying to impart as much wisdom as she possibly can so they are in the best position possible to head out into the world.

Lopez, 56, has been very candid about her struggle to come to terms with entering her empty-nester era come August, when Max and Emme, who she shares with her ex-husband, Marc Anthony, leave her $18 million California mansion to go to separate colleges.

However, during an appearance on Andy Cohen's "Watch What Happens Live," she shared additional insight into that process, while revealing everything she is doing to prep her kids and herself for the next chapter of their lives.

The "On The Floor" hitmaker told Cohen: "It's an emotional time. It's been the three of us. People have come in and out of my life, but it's been the three of us. They've always been there, and I've always been there.”

The actress then gushed about the "village" that helped her raise her children while she balanced motherhood with her busy career, before going on to confess that she had never really considered a time when her kids wouldn't be living at home with her.

“I just never thought they would not be there," she admitted. "I just never thought that far ahead. I thought, too, that they're so independent. I've given them roots and wings."

She joked that she knows it is the "healthy" thing to celebrate and support her children's next step forward, but admitted that when she began to consider the implications of Max and Emme's college journey, it all became very emotional.

“[I thought], ‘It's great, this is how it is … this is a healthy mom thing to do,'" she said. "And then about a couple of months ago, I just was like writing something for their end-of-the-school-year thing for them to put in the program at the graduation, and I just have not … every time it comes up, I just start crying. I could cry right now."

Cohen, 58, then asked the singer for some parenting advice when it comes to spoiling their kids—with the singer responding that she believes one of the best things she can do for her twins right now is to ensure that she shares with them as many of the biggest life lessons she's learned over the years.

“They do what they see you do," Lopez responded. "It's not so much what you tell them all the time. Even though I'm trying to download everything I've ever learned in my life, every lesson I've ever [learned], to them right now before they leave in August … I still feel like who you are as a person, how you act, what they see you do, if you work hard, they become more hard workers.

“They mimic you in this weird way and learn from you, even though they act like they're opposite [to] you. My kids [are like], ‘I don't want to be anything like you. I want to have my own path.' They see this persona, and it's such a thing, But I also see them … not mimic, but just pick up things that are the good traits about you."

Lopez previously admitted during an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel's late-night show that she has been "crying for two months" over the thought of the twins leaving her home.

"Don't talk about it, I'll start crying!" the singer joked when Kimmel first broached the subject.

One particularly poignant moment came when the mother of two had to write a tribute for their yearbooks, with Lopez revealing: "Two months ago, I had to write the little thing for the yearbook. When I tell you, the tears. Two days it took me to write those things."

While Lopez readily confessed to being devastated about her children moving out, she said that she is getting fully involved in their preparation, particularly when it comes to stockpiling essentials that they might need in their dorm rooms.

"I do all the things," she said. "We have sheets at the house, we're going to pack up their rooms here, and they're going to take all the things that they want to take to their dorms."

The actress confessed that she does have an ulterior motive, however, joking that she's hopeful the twins will get to their respective colleges, realize how tiny the dorm rooms are, and immediately want to return to their mother's palatial Los Angeles abode.

"Then, they’re gonna get there and realize their dorms are too small," she schemed. "They’re going to miss home, I hope, and want to come back real soon. That’s my plan."

While Lopez has not revealed where her children are planning to attend college, she has shared that they will be going to different schools—have also studied at separate high schools.

It has only been a matter of weeks since Lopez and her twins moved into their new abode, having moved out of the opulent Beverly Hills manse they shared with the singer's ex-husband, Ben Affleck. The trio had continued to reside in that property even after Lopez and Affleck's divorce while renovations were carried out on their new home, which the singer purchased for $17.5 million in February 2025.

Lopez revealed a brief glimpse inside the updated abode while documenting her Memorial Day celebrations on social media, sharing a series of image of herself and her family enjoying a sun-soaked day by the pool.

Several of the videos and photos showed Lopez sporting a white bikini while tanning in and around her elegant swimming pool, including a couple in which she was pictured lounging on different floaties, from a pink-and-white striped ring to a large inflatable bed.

Another snap showed her perched on the edge of her built-in spa with a drink alongside her, while her family and friends could be seen laying on the pink striped loungers that have been arranged around the pool.

Lopez has also added a few tables and chairs to the poolside area, as well as several umbrellas to provide shade in the scorching L.A. heat—with her Instagram carousel revealing that she has removed the paved slabs that once surrounded the water in order to cover the entire lounging area with grass.

Having spent ample time soaking up the sun, the mother of two welcomed her family inside the poolside cabana for a meal, with videos showing the group crowded around a large dining table in the space and having a singalong session.

The group tackled Bonnie Tyler's "Total Eclipse of the Heart," with Lopez leading the singing as her family and friends joined in—while waving their napkins in the air and banging on the tables.

And in addition to renovating the poolside area, it appears Lopez also carried out a significant overhaul of the cabana, which previously featured exposed dark-wood beams, a large stone fireplace, a black-and-white tiled grill area, and beige limewashed walls.

However, Lopez's newly renovated space has a much brighter color palette, with a marble fireplace, pale green walls, gold chandeliers, and painted beams.