“That was my biggest dream, and I really worked hard at it. We both did,” Jennifer Lopez tells  in her first interview since announcing that she and Marc Anthony are divorcing. “Sometimes it doesn’t work—and that’s sad. But I remain an eternal optimist about love. I believe in love,” Lopez says. “It’s still my biggest dream. I am positive—determined to move forward with my life, bring up my babies, and do the best job I can as a mother, entertainer, and person. I now look forward to new challenges. I feel strong.”

Lopez opens up to contributing editor Lisa Robinson about her life with Anthony and the example she hopes to set for her children; she talks about her relationship with P. Diddy and breaking off her engagement to Ben Affleck; she’s honest about the diva rumors that surround her, and shares her attitudes toward money, fame, and especially love. “I’m a hopeless romantic and passionate person when it comes to love,” Lopez explains, describing the passage that has brought her to her current state of mind. “It’s not that I didn’t love myself before. Sometimes we don’t realize that we are compromising ourselves. To understand that a person is not good for you, or that that person is not treating you in the right way, or that he is not doing the right thing for himself—if I stay, then I am not doing the right thing for me. I love myself enough to walk away from that now.”

“I will always respect Marc as a singer and performer,” Lopez tellsVanity Fair. “We actually work great together, and he was always very supportive. Together we could make magic—and we did. He will always be in our lives. He will always hold a special place in my heart as the father of my children.”