Jennifer Lopez is amazed people were surprised when she finally unleashed the big secret and announced she was pregnant. “I kind of feel like everybody knew anyway,” the singer tells Harper’s Bazaar for its February issue. “I was on tour with a bubble gut!” The glowing singer, with Marc Anthony at her side onstage, told the crowd during her final Miami concert Nov. 8: “Marc and I are expecting a baby!” Having ducked the entire issue of the pregnancy for weeks, including when she appeared the previous month on TV with Diane Sawyer and with David Letterman, Lopez, 38, speaking on behalf of herself and Anthony, 39, now says, “I do realize people want to know because they’re interested, but this is the first time I’m going through this. This is my experience and my husband’s experience, and we get to hold that for a little while.”

She adds, “We’re just getting used to the fact that we’ve told everybody.” Still, when it comes to her privacy, “I’m just feeling too protective to open that door right now,” says Lopez. “It’s a Pandora’s box. It’s a destructive lifestyle to be out there. I know because I’ve lived it. Being on the cover of the tabloids every day for two years - it’s hard. You start forgetting who you really are inside.” And her husband? “Marc is a really private person, and he’s been singing onstage since he was really young. He made me realize you can be an artist, and have credibility and success, without your life being on public display 24 hours a day.”

Looks Forward to Time Off
She is aware that the Lopez-Anthony baby will be of tremendous interest to paparazzi, but the infant “will be whatever we are,” she says. “Private when it comes to that stuff.” Once the baby arrives, there is the matter of taking time off. Asked how long that will be, Lopez answers, “I don’t know - and I like that, because my life has been so planned for so many years. Once I did the tour, I really just wanted to shut it down, and since then I’ve had to do three things, including a video. It may not sound like a lot, but you know, as this point, any woman can sympathize. It is a lot. I was ready just to sit.”
People

“Being on the cover of tabloids everyday for 2 years - it’s hard. You start forgetting who you really are inside.”

[ download E! Daily 10 Clip ] [ Harper' Bazaar Cover ]
Read the Harper’s Bazaar Cover story here.

Mariah Carey is fighting back against a new Internet report that suggests she is feuding with Jennifer Lopez. The report, which has spread in the blogsphere Tuesday, includes a quote - supposedly from Carey - saying that she would rather appear on stage with a certain animal than ever share a stage with Lopez.

The story, Carey tells PEOPLE. is “a complete untruth.” Carey insists that the quote did not, and would not, come from her. “This is just some Internet gossip and it’s pathetic that people actually entertain the thought that this could be real,” Carey adds. “This is another sad example of two strong women being pit against each other.” Carey has a new album due out in the spring, shortly after Lopez is due to give birth.
People

In non-Britney, non-scandal news, Reese Witherspoon has been voted the most likeable female celebrity in a new poll. Basically, if Hollywood was high school, she just became Prom Queen. It was a close call though! Witherspoon beat out Jennifer Aniston with 74% to Aniston’s 70% in the survey of 1,000 females. Angelina Jolie came in third position with 53%, followed by Jennifer Lopez in fourth place with 52%. Katie Holmes also makes it into the top five with 32%. So who made the ‘least likeable’ list? Not surprisingly, Paris Hilton beat out Britney Spears as the least appealing star. She only got 9%, while Britney brought in 11%.
Hollywood Scoop

Jennifer Lopez is reportedly planning a Scientology birth for her first child. According to sources, the actress is going to give birth in silence, which is the preference of most Scientologists. The silent birth is said to relieve the newborn of any stress the first week of their life. Scientologist couple Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes is said to have practiced the guidelines when they had their first child, Suri, in April 2006. “Although she knows it will be hard not to scream, she understands why it will be good for the baby to have peace and quiet,” says a source. During a concert on November 7, Lopez announced she and husband Marc Anthony were expecting their first child together. Recent shopping trips have fueled rumors that she is expecting twins as she bought matching boy and girl outfits.