Jennifer Lopez Says Taking Summer Off to Spend with Kids Was ‘Best Thing I Think I’ve Ever Done’

The actress and singer previously canceled her summer tour for “time off” to be with her 16-year-old twins, Max and Emme

Jennifer Lopez with 16-year-old twins Emme and Max. Photo: Jennifer Lopez/Instagram

The Unstoppable star, 55, revealed on a new episode of The Graham Norton Show, which aired on Friday, Nov. 8, that taking her summer off to spend time with her children — after the cancellation of her This Is Me… Live tour in May — was “the best thing I think I’ve ever done.”

Lopez had announced via a statement on her OntheJLo website in May that she had decided to take some “time off to be with her children, family and close friends” and had called off the string of shows, which were set to run from June to August in support of her latest studio album, This Is Me… Now.

Lopez is mom to 16-year-old twins, Max and Emme, who she shares with ex Marc Anthony.

Speaking to host Graham Norton, 61, during the show about canceling the tour, Lopez said, “I decided to take this summer off and be home with the kids and it was the best thing I think I’ve ever done,”

“It’s not like me to do that,” she added of her summer break.

Jennifer Lopez with kids Max and Emme.Jennifer Lopez/Instagram

“When it comes up, I like to apologize to the fans because I know a lot of them were coming out,” she added, referring to the cancelled tour.

Lopez then shared an anecdote about recently seeing fans in the U.K. who told her they had planned to catch her on the tour.

“This was actually very touching,” she said. “Coming out of the hotel yesterday, they were like, ‘I had tickets to go see you!’ And I was like, ‘I’m so sorry.’ He was like, ‘Don’t say sorry, we love you.’ I started crying right away.”

As it turned out, that same fan was in attendance at The Graham Norton Show, sitting front row, and after he shouted out that it had been him who had spoken to her the day prior, the two shared a hug on stage.

“I got in the car and literally cried. Honestly, it was very hard for me to cancel and I’ve never done that before. I’m sorry,” she told him.

The fan told Lopez in response that her supporters understood, before she told him “Okay, good” and added as she sat back down, “I love my fans, oh my God.”

Jennifer Lopez with Max and Emme.Jennifer Lopez/Instagram

The singer and actress — whose tour cancellation came amid reports of her separation from her ex Ben Affleck before she officially filed for divorce in August — spent plenty of quality time with her kids over the summer.

Among their activities, Lopez was joined by Max during a birthday lunch in the Hamptons in July, was spotted on a bike ride with him and also shared a few photos with her kids to social media — one of which appeared to be taken during a May trip to Paris.

Back in September, Lopez attended the Toronto International Film Festival in promotion of her latest film, Unstoppable, when she told PEOPLE at the premiere of the sports biopic that the reception had been “really great.”

In the film, Lopez plays the mother of wrestler Anthony Robles, who won an NCAA national championship in 2011 while at Arizona State University. Jharrel Jerome stars as Anthony in the film, which also features performances from Don Cheadle and Bobby Cannavale and arrives in theaters on Dec. 6.