Alex Rodriguez says his relationship with Jennifer Lopez works because they're "so similar".

Jennifer Lopez and Alex Rodriguez

Jennifer Lopez and Alex Rodriguez

The 42-year-old former professional baseball player - who has Natasha, 12, and Ella, nine, with his ex wife Cynthia Curtis - is currently in a relationship with the singer and actress, and has said their "workaholic" nature and the fact that they both understand parenthood has made their relationship stronger.

Speaking about Jennifer - who has nine-year-old twins Emme and Max with her ex husband Marc Anthony - Alex said: "We both appreciate where we are in our lives. We appreciate being parents, and we're so similar; we're both kind of workaholics."

But Alex isn't one to talk about his private life with the 'Shades of Blue' actress, 48, too much.

When asked by The Hollywood Reporter magazine who asked who out first, he simply said: "You'll have to ask her that."

Meanwhile, the sporting star recently said dating the 'Love Don't Cost A Thing' hitmaker is "humbling", because he's often confused for her security guard and go out with her without being bothered by paparazzi.

He said: "This is one of the most humbling experiences of my life. When I was with the Yankees, and we won the world championship, and you wear the pinstripes, you think you're pretty cool. But then, you hang out with Jennifer, and they confuse me with the security guard all the time!

"We were at the Met Ball, and the paparazzi were screaming at me, not even in English, 'Get the hell out of the way, get out of the way! We're trying to take a picture!'"

Alex previously gushed over his pop megastar beau as he branded her as the "smartest human being" he has ever met.

He said: "She really is one of the most impressive and smartest human beings I have ever met. Our kids get along really well, we're both from New York, we're both Latin, we're both in our forties, we're really enjoying life."