Last night, Jennifer Lopez and her husband, Ben Affleck, had a red carpet date night at Elle’s Women in Hollywood extravaganza — chrome breastplate included. And while it was Lopez who was taking home one of the night’s trophies, she gushed about Ben, telling Extra that she trusts him to always give his opinion on her work and that despite the tabloid headlines and the microscope that’s over them at all times, they’re the real deal.

Lopez’s comments come ahead of the February release of her new album, This is Me … Now, and its accompanying film. Fans will remember that Lopez’s third studio album, This Is Me … Then, included a track called “Dear Ben.” It was released in 2002, when Lopez and Affleck were dating and engaged before they rekindled their relationship and eventually tied the knot.

“We are real partners, not just in working together, but in life, as parents, as lovers, as a couple … We discuss everything with each other … I want his opinion, everything, because I trust him. I know he has the best intentions, he has no kind of agenda except to see me shine as bright as I can shine, and that’s what I have for him, too, so I definitely always want his opinion.”

When asked just how intimate and personal the new album would be, Lopez demurred, “I don’t think anybody knows anything about my true personal life.” That’s a surprising statement from someone whose entire romantic life has played out in the spotlight. She added that This Is Me … Now will dive deep into her heart, saying it’s the “most personal,” material she’s put out to date.

“Even more than that, it is the most revealing, in a way,” she added.

Lopez says that fans can expect her most personal material to date on the new album.

“When I went into the studio, I was there every single day and I wrote on every single song. It was a very, very special project, and when it was done, I knew I wanted to do something different with it — and we did,” she said, adding that the visual component of the album is also going to give fans a whole new way to experience the music. “We made a movie, and it is very different than anything I have ever done in my life, the most personal, scary project I have ever done.”