The foundations of Jennifer Lopez' seventh studio album, Love? can be traced back to late 2007 and early 2008, during her pregnancy with twins Emme and Max. While pregnant, and later at home after giving birth, Lopez worked on new music for future projects. The record was eventually released on April 29, 2011 but because of its long gestation period, several tracks were leaked prematurely. One of the incomplete songs that popped up on the net was this Wynter Gordon penned tune. The songwriter, who worked closely with Lopez on the project, addressed the leak in a personal blog through her official MySpace page, in which she expressed her discontent that an unfinished, unmastered version appeared prematurely. She posted: "I wrote this song from a deep place in my heart. If the world was gonna hear it, I wanted them to hear it right... It's as good as gone to me now... The story was given a Lifetime TV special instead of a movie... sad."

Gordon explained the song's meaning in the same blog. She said, "[What Is Love is about] not knowing what love is ...I felt like so many woman have that same story. No fathers, families, abusive boyfriends and husbands..no parental support, they feel alone .. I've had my few relationships and have yet to feel love [sic]."