Jennifer Lopez InStyle Photoshoot 2009

Jennifer Lopez graces the September cover of InStyle magazine and lets us in on a few secrets about her fears and how motherhood has changed her.

One shocking revelation? La Lopez is afraid of the dark! The 40-year-old diva admits, "I like the quiet, but I don't like the dark. We have everything on dimmers so I kind of trick myself into the darkness. Marc always turns off the lights after he comes to bed. I'm usually sleeping—or he waits till I fall asleep and then turns them off."

Turns out Lopez is also terrible around computers, "I never go near one; I don't like them. I barely know how to log on, so I'm never online."

But one thing she'll never give up on is her family. Lopez concedes that marriage is difficult at times, saying that through her five year marriage she's had, "hard experiences and a lot of ups and downs and a lot of mistakes." But, ever the optimist, she says, "I believe that in life you learn through experience. I'm old enough to know now that relationships take work. That's it's not an easy thing."

A large part of her new outlook comes thanks to her children, whom Jennifer credits for getting her off the "hamster wheel" that was her previous, non-stop lifestyle. "[Parenthood] totally changes your perspective on everything," says Lopez. "You don't come first anymore. There's somebody else you care more about than yourself. There's you before kids, and there's you after kids – and they're not the same you."

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5 Things You Don't Know About Jennifer Lopez

"I don't want everything to be white."

"There was this rumor that I needed white flowers and white linens wherever I went: 'Everything has to be white or she won’t go in the room!' That's not true."

"I am terrible with computers."

"I never go near one; I don't like them. I barely know how to log on, so I'm never online."

"I like the quiet, but I don't like the dark."

"We have everything on dimmers so I kind of trick myself into the darkness. Marc always turns off the lights after he comes to bed. I'm usually sleeping—or he waits till I fall asleep and then turns them off."

"I love to read books about relationships."

"I am constantly trying to figure that out. It's the never-ending question—what is the key to love?"

"Barbra Streisand is my absolute idol."

"I love what she does. She's a singer an actress, she went into directing—she does it all. I sang Streisand's 'My Man' to Marc at his 40th birthday party. It was a perfect song to sing to him. I even made him a recording so he could play it in the car."

Jennifer Lopez was also featured on Monday's episode of Entertainment Tonight. The show featured exclusive video not seen anywhere else of Jennifer Lopez at her photo shoot for Instyle Magazine, an interview, and even Jennifer getting a special visit from her daughter Emme, who ran up to mommy Jennifer in the middle of her photo shoot.
Emme, suited in a beautiful flowing full length dress ran up to her mother and tugged at Jen's dress, as Jennifer smiled and laughed making faces, looking down at Emme.
TOO CUTE!

Jennifer Lopez InStyle Photoshoot 2009