Jennifer Lopez post-split: I still believe in love

(CBS/AP) - Jennifer Lopez says she still believes in love despite her split from her husband of seven years, Marc Anthony.

In her first interview since announcing her divorce last month, the singer and actress tells Vanity Fair magazine that she is an "eternal optimist" and describes love as her "biggest dream."

Pictures: Celebrity splits
Pictures: Jennifer Lopez

"Sometimes it doesn't work--and that's sad. But I remain an eternal optimist about love. I believe in love," she says. "It's still my biggest dream. I am positive -- determined to move forward with my life, bring up my babies, and do the best job I can as a mother, entertainer, and person."

The 42-year-old, who has had a string of high-profile relationships, says she's learned to walk away from something when it isn't right.

"Sometimes we don't realize that we are compromising ourselves," Lopez says. "To understand that a person is not good for you, or that that person is not treating you in the right way, or that he is not doing the right thing for himself -- if I stay, then I am not doing the right thing for me."

"I love myself enough to walk away from that now," she adds.

One thing Lopez says she and Anthony do right is work together, saying "together we make magic."

The couple has two children, 3-year-old twins Max and Emme.

The September issue of Vanity Fair goes on sale Aug. 9.