Jennifer Lopez "doesn't need" to marry Alex Rodriguez at the moment

J-Lo - who has twins Max and Emme, 10, with ex-husband Marc Anthony - said: "Among our children and work and all the wonderful things that happen, we are really living our best years.

"We are grateful for this and we do not need anything else at the moment. We have to do things at our own pace."

The 'Second Act' star - who was also previously married to Ojani Noa and Cris Judd - admits having kids has changed the way she views marriage.

She told Closer magazine: "I think I've understood that marriage takes a lot more than just falling in love and sharing a home together.

"In my case, my first responsibility is my children and making sure as a mother that I'm creating the best possible home for them.

"That means you need someone who not only understands you, but understands children and is willing to love them as much as you do.

"But I'm hopeful of being able to spend the rest of my life with someone and being committed in that way to each other."

After she split from Marc in 2011, Jennifer had to take time to reflect on herself and her life.

She explained: "I had waited a long time to have kids and then suddenly I had young twins and I was getting divorced from Marc.

"I had to do a lot of self-reflection about what I was going through, why I wasn't happy in my life and what I needed to do about it.

"I also saw that I had to stop thinking that other people were responsible for my happiness.. It was up to me to rely on myself and love myself first in order to be able to be happy.

"That's what I needed to do so I would feel more confident about myself, have faith in myself. That would enable me to be a more open person so that I would be able to meet someone and feel good about sharing my life with someone else."