There is a type of pride that is hard to put into words. It was still found by Jennifer Lopez. That same month, the 56-year-old singer and actress talked to Extra about her twins, Max and Emme Muniz, turning 18 and graduating from high school, as well as the things that came with it. She told them that both of them got into all five colleges they applied to. Each one got a scholarship. Lopez broke the bad news with the quiet amazement of someone still processing what had just happened. “I am so proud that they set goals for themselves,” she said.
It seems like a simple sentence until you think about what it meant. Lopez then talked about how her twins, whom she has with ex-husband Marc Anthony, have ADHD and how going to school was never easy. She said that learning in a different way required work that many kids who don’t have those problems never have to do. There were tough parts. There were probably times when there was real doubt. Then, sometime between fifth grade and senior year, something made sense.
Lopez may not be most proud of the acceptances or scholarships, even though those are impressive. Instead, he may be most proud of making it through. Years after years, she saw her kids set a goal and then work hard to reach it, even though no one could give it to them. That’s not the same kind of win that most news stories show.
What made her interview stand out wasn’t just how well she did in school. It seemed like she had been saying this about parenting for years, almost like a family motto. When she asked her kids, “What do I say?” they would tell her, “It doesn’t matter if we get good grades as long as we’re good people.” It’s still said. They say it again and again. Some lessons are very moving when a teenager remembers them and can quote them back without being asked.
Lopez was also on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at about the same time, she said she had been crying for two months over the thought of her kids leaving. She laughed about it in the way that parents do when something really upsets them and the only way to deal with it is through humor. She told Kimmel, “Don’t talk about it, because we cry.” He asked her if seeing parents who weren’t crying would make her love her kids more. She laughed out loud and said no, because she thought everyone would be crying eventually. In a way that many interviews with celebrities don’t, that moment felt real.
The twins are going to different colleges, which Lopez seemed fine with. “I want them to be happy, go where they want to go and do what they want to do,” she replied. It sounds like something that could be used as a talking point, but she followed it up with a more personal story about how she felt when she was their age and wanted to do everything. Somehow you can tell she really means it when she says that letting them go is bittersweet because she knows how you feel.
Max and Emme Muniz are ready for whatever comes next. They have scholarships, acceptance letters, and a mother who taught them that character is more important than grades. That mix doesn’t happen very often. It doesn’t just happen.
