Jennifer Lopez has opened up for the first time since her split with Marc Anthony last week.

J-Lo, 42, confirmed the break-up last month, and admitted she was left devastated that the seven year marriage did not last.

She told Vanity Fair “Ending the marriage was the hardest decision I’ve had to face. I really wanted this family to work and I worked hard at it.

‘Sometimes it doesn’t work – and that’s sad. But I remain an eternal optimist about love. I believe in love.’

Jennifer, who has been married twice before, continued, ‘When we were married, we were able to go everywhere together. The first three years of our marriage was just for us. I wasn’t working, it was mainly about him. Then we got pregnant. Then it became about the kids. And I started working again.

‘Marriage is tough. Sometimes we don’t realise 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’

However Jennifer clearly feels affection for her estranged husband, also 42.

‘Together we could make magic – and we did,’ she said.

‘He will always hold a special place in my heart as the father of my children.’

Determined not to let the split cast a shadow over her quality time with her children, three-year-old twins Max and Emme, J-lo was pictured with them last week at a local park in Atlanta where filming the move ‘What To Expect When Your Expecting.’

Jennifer added: ‘I am positive – determined to move forward with my life. I look forward to new challenges. I feel strong.’