Ahead of the release of Jennifer Lopez’s new rom com Marry Me, Lopez gave interviews to People and the New York Times about the movie and her off-screen, back-on romance with Ben Affleck.

To the NY Times, Lopez’s comments were more reserved. She discussed how their second time dating is different than their first. (Lopez and Affleck first dated from 2002-2004 and were engaged then before calling off their wedding in September 2003 and breaking up in January 2004.)

“I would say we learned our lesson the first time,” Lopez told the outlet with a sigh. “To hold it sacred. You have to do what feels good to you all the time. But at the same time, you learn from the past, you do things better the second time. There’s a part of it that, yes, we’re together. But there’s a part of it that’s not, you know, being so open the way we were when we were so young and in love many years ago.”

To People, Lopez really got into it. She gushed about Affleck: “I feel so lucky and happy and proud to be with him,” she said. “It’s a beautiful love story that we got a second chance.”

She added that when they first started dating again last spring, they “had a little bit of fear. Before we kind of put [our relationship] out there and we were naïve and it got a little trampled,” she said, reflecting on their first try.

But now, “We both were like, ‘Wow, we’re so happy and we don’t want any of that to come into play again.’ We’re older now, we’re smarter, we have more experience, we’re at different places in our lives, we have kids now, and we have to be very conscious of those things. We’re so protective because it is such a beautiful time for all of us,” she said.

“I just feel very happy and lucky to be in a relationship that’s happy and loving, and I want to do everything I can to protect that and keep it safe,” she added. “It deserves that, it really does. … We hold it sacred.”

As for Affleck, Lopez had the kindest words to say: “I’m so proud of the him, I’m so proud of the man he’s become that I’ve watched from afar,” she started. “Being honest with each other, being loving, that’s just the basis of everything. I feel like he’s at a place in his life where—just like how I feel about myself—it’s been a journey of learning yourself and figuring yourself out, getting to a place where you feel really good on your own and who you are so you can be in a happy, healthy relationship.”

“To see the person, the human being, the man that he is today, the father that he is today, the partner that he is—he is so everything I always knew he was and wanted to be,” she said.

She addressed their future honestly, telling People, “I just want my future to be full of love and happiness, with my children and my partner. I think everybody just wants to be happy, with somebody to go on the journey with and grow old with, and I feel good about that right now.”

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