When Jennifer Lopez rekindled her relationship with Ben Affleck after nearly two decades, she had to take more into account than just the expected media scrutiny on the two of them.
Lopez, 52, is the mother of twins Max and Emme, 13, with ex-husband Marc Anthony, while Affleck, 49, shares raising Violet, 16, Seraphina, 13, and Samuel, 9, with ex-wife Jennifer Garner.
The "Marry Me" star shared on TODAY with Hoda & Jenna Thursday how she takes her kids into consideration when deciding how open to be about her relationship with Affleck.
"They’re going to be 14 in a couple of days, and they have opinions about the world and their lives," Lopez said. "And now they see their dad, me as well, we’re in the public eye, what that means, what that means for them, school, everything.
"It’s a lot of things. You have to be conscious, too, like what you talk about from your private life in public because they’ll read it, their friends will read it, these things will happen, all these judgments made."
Lopez and Affleck did not have children back in the days of "Bennifer" when they dated from 2002-04 before breaking off their wedding plans. Social media also did not exist in the massive form that it does now.
"Social media is so different now," Lopez said. "It’s not just tabloid magazines, like if you happen to pick it up. Everybody can see everything you say all the time, so it’s just about being respectful to them, too, and loving them and protecting them, and protecting our family and our love, that’s all."
Affleck and Lopez have a different perspective on being in such a high-profile relationship in their second go-round. They were seemingly everywhere together in the early 2000s, from co-starring in movies to Affleck appearing in her music videos.
"I think when Ben and I were younger and we were together, it was something that we were just kind of out there with our relationship, and when something is sacred like that you put it out there. ... It's yours to do with what you want," Lopez said.
"I think we're older now, we have kids, and we have a different sense of responsibility, and we have a lot more experience and we're just in a different place in our life. We're going to try to keep as much as we can sharing our happiness, but at the same time keeping it very sacred and close to our own hearts."