Jennifer Lopez was insecure before she became a mother

The 44-year-old singer, who has five-year-old twins, Max and Emme, with her ex-husband Marc Anthony, doubted her singing abilities until she got together with the Latin star, whom she split from in July 2011 after seven years of marriage, and had children with him.

The `American Idol` judge told the September issue of Cosmopolitan magazine: "It was after I had kids to be honest... The biggest insecurity I had was my singing. Even though I had sold 70 million records, there was this feeling like, I`m not good at this. And while I was married to Marc, he helped me get over it. He kept telling me, `You`re the only one holding yourself back from reaching your full potential as a singer. You have to let go`...I was always so insecure and just kind of going along.

"Then I grew, little by little, and realised, wait a minute, this is not a fluke. I`m not a mistake - I work my ass off. And I know what I`m doing."

The `Dance Again` hitmaker has also learnt a lot from her boyfriend of almost two years, Casper Smart, 26, whose real name is Beau.

She said: "For me, it`s about having a great partner to walk this life with. I have my own high standards for what I want in a partner and how I want to be treated. I bring a lot to the table. I`m not talking about material things but what I have to offer as a person - love and loyalty and all the things that make a good relationship. It`s funny, early on with Beau, I remember telling him how I have a real button on being ignored. And he was like, `Listen, if somebody ignores you, then forget them. They don`t deserve to have your attention.` But it`s funny. Sometimes when we don`t get it, we try to get it in a negative way, you know?"

sections: Celebrities