Jennifer Lopez Talks Adoption Rumors, Post-Partum Depression and Whether She'll Leave American Idol

Star dismisses chatter that she and Casper Smart are looking to adopt and talks about an Idol-less future during appearance on Ellen DeGeneres

By Josh Grossberg May 15, 2012 5:37 PMTags
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Did you hear the one about Jennifer Lopez suffering from from post-partum depression? Or that she and beau Casper Smart are looking to adopt?

The actress, singer and American Idol judge set the record straight on those pesky rumors and a few others on today's episode The Ellen DeGeneres Show, where she and Cameron Diaz turned up to promote their new comedy, What to Expect When You're Expecting.

But the biggest bombshell? She hinted that her tenure on American Idol might be coming to an end.

Addressing the two big elephants in the room, the 42-year-old Lopez said tabloid reports that she was looking to add to her brood with her new boy-toy and that she was depressed after she and soon-to-be former hubby Marc Anthony welcomed twins Max and Emme were complete fabrications.

"I know I'm being misquoted in the press a lot. Now, I want to adopt and I had depression when I had babies. None of that's true," the Hollywood hyphenate told Ellen.

She then explained how a previous interview she gave for her new movie suddenly evolved into erroneous news that she was looking to adopt.

"I never really thought about adoption before [What to Expect], ever. I just thought. 'Oh, I'm going to have my own kids,' and I never thought about it as something I would do. But after kind of doing the role and holding these babies, you can see how you can take a baby that you don't know and who, you know, needs a home—you can give them a home and raise them as your own," she said. "I really kind of, through the character, came to understand how people do it."

As for the post-partum chatter, Lopez said she was taken out of context when asked about whether she read the pregnancy guide, What to Expect When You're Expecting (in the flick she plays Holly, who adopts a baby from abroad with her hubby, played by Rodrigo Santoro).

About seven to ten days after her twins were born, she recalled, "I just started crying...I was like, the babies don't love me! Then I read the book—and it was like on that day, I counted...when your hormones drop and you get very emotional. They're like, 'You might be feeling very emotional today…I said, 'Yes, I am, that's what's happening to me, right now.' So those are the two stories that people ran away with a little bit."

Last but not least, when DeGeneres, a former American Idol judge herself, wondered if she'll return to Fox's hit talent show next year, Lopez suggested the current season could be her last.

"I don't know," said the "Love Don't Cost a Thing" crooner. "I enjoy it. I really do enjoy it. This is my second year. I don't know if I can go for a third year. I miss doing other things. It really does lock you down."

With her adorable 4-year-old tots growing up fast, Lopez hinted that it might be time to move on.

"Now they're getting more mobile. They're about to go to school," Lopez admitted. "I just don't know. I don't know."