Jennifer Lopez has reflected on the "up and down" relationship journey she experienced before dating Alex Rodriguez.

The singer has previously dated high-profile celebrities like Sean 'Diddy' Combs and Ben Affleck, and has also been married three times - most recently to Marc Anthony, with whom she shares 10-year-old twins Max and Emme.

Though she is now in a happy relationship with the former New York Yankees baseball player turned broadcaster, Jennifer believes that learning to love herself is what allowed her to settle into a "supportive and loving" partnership.

"For me, the relationship journey has been very up and down. But it didn't have to do with anybody else but me—it was about me figuring out me," the 49-year-old explained in a cover interview for Harper Bazaar U.S. "Until you learn to love yourself, you can't completely love (someone else) in a way that is pure and true. Once you do that, you can have relationships that are based on love and respect, that are supportive and nourishing. There's an evolution there that had to happen for me. I feel like I'm in a better place now."

And though Jennifer is pleased that self-care has helped her find love, it was her two children who made her realise she "had to be better and do better."

"There's something about being responsible for another human being that makes you go, ‘Okay, what am I doing for myself? How can I take care of someone else if I can't even take care of myself?'," the On the Floor hitmaker continued. "I've got two amazing kids and a great boyfriend. I don't have everything figured out, and everything isn't perfect. But I feel very proud that with all the things I've gone through in my personal life, I'm still optimistic and hopeful."