Jennifer Didn't Like Being in the Spotlight Any More Than You Liked Having Her There

I remember fondly a different era in celebrity gossip: those carefree days when nip-slips and crotch shots were nearly unheard of, when Lindsay Lohan was just that little girl from The Parent Trap and Paris Hilton was a hotel in France. When the only celebrity sex tape belonged to Pamela Anderson, and we were surprised when reality TV stars moved to L.A. and got agents. I recall those long-ago days when we ran a piece on Jennifer Lopez every. Single. Day.

So does Jennifer, and not as fondly as you'd imagine. She claims she made a conscious decision to leave the spotlight behind: "It was a choice," she said at the annual TV critics conference. "My life for me had become uncomfortable in the way that it was affecting my personal life and the people in it. So I decided I needed to take a look at that."

Then, she did the unthinkable: she spent time in places without cameras. "I realized there was a way to pull back from that. You don't go out as much. You choose different places to go."

Do you hear that, Nicole Richie? Lindsay Lohan? The next time you feel like giving a soundbyte about how much you hate the stalkerazzi, remember: there are clubs in Los Angeles that are not named Hyde.