NEED TO KNOW
- In September 2008, six months after Jennifer Lopez gave birth to her twins, she successfully ran a triathlon
- The actress shared what motivated her to participate in the endurance challenge during her appearance on the Las Culturistas podcast
- She told the show’s co-hosts, Bowen Yang and Matt Rogers, that she wanted to complete the challenge so her twins would be proud of her
Jennifer Lopez took her postpartum body training to a whole new level.
The Kiss of the Spider Woman star, 56, appeared on the Wednesday, Oct. 8 episode of the Las Culturistas podcast, and recalled when she decided to participate in a triathlon six months after giving birth to her twins, Emme and Max, 17. She shares the teens with ex-husband Marc Anthony, 57.
As the actress chatted with co-hosts Bowen Yang and Matt Rogers about her passion for musical theater, she shared that she performed a rendition of Funny Girl’s “You Are Woman, I Am Man” for Anthony’s 40th birthday. While she recounted the memory, she nonchalantly added through a chuckle, “I had ran a triathlon that day.”
After she, Yang and Rogers laughed over her “casual” accomplishment, she explained what motivated her to do the triathlon.
“When I was still pregnant, I was like I’m going to do a triathlon when the kids [are born and] after I give birth to get back into shape,” she said. “I was like, I’m giving myself a goal.”
She said she was inspired by a TV show, and when she researched nearby triathlons, she discovered there would be one in Malibu in September 2008.
The “On the Floor” singer also shared that while she was pregnant, she went into a room in her home and saw her American Music Award from 2007 and was excited, thinking to herself that it was something her children could be proud of her.
She noted that accomplishing the triathlon was similar to that mentality. “The triathlon was part of that,” she said. “I want them to be proud of me.”
“Now, I’ve told them the story. They couldn’t care less. Like ‘Okay, you ran a triathlon.’ But, one day, maybe they’ll think of it and go, ‘Wow, my mom ran a triathlon six months after she had me.’ ”
Meanwhile, Lopez candidly shared that she was pleased with her performance, however, she confessed that the swimming portion was daunting.
“The swim is the crazy thing,” she said. “You go and you’re looking at the ocean for the first time and you’re like, ‘I’m going swimming to the buoy. Not the first one. The third one? I’m sure there’s sharks out there.’ ”
During her conversation with Yang, 34, and Rogers, 35, she also shared how she was able to reconnect with her twins after taking a whole year off.
“But last year when I had to cancel my tour, and I took a whole year off, I finished [Kiss of the Spider Woman] last March, and I didn’t start another movie until this following March [when] I did Office Romance,” she shared. “And during that year, literally just sat in like a rocking chair.”
“I was with my kids. I really wanted them to feel me and I didn’t wanna be away from them. And we reconnected in a way because I’ve always been a working single mom for most of their life,” she explained.
“And so it was so nice for them to have me there every single day for a year, which was so different for them and for me.”
Lopez’s kids returned the sweet gesture and stood by her side at the New York City premiere of Kiss of the Spider Woman on Monday, Oct. 6.
Max and Emme stood beside their mother on the red carpet, wearing coordinating colors of deep red, tan, and black. The siblings each wore pants, and Max paired his with a relaxed-fit jacket while Emme wore a tailored blazer.
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