Ciara was 18 when she released her debut single, “Goodies,” and has since blossomed into a wife, a mother of three and a successful entrepreneur. As the cover star of Women’s Health December 2022 issue, she’s opening up about the journey to come into her own on both a professional and personal level.
In the emotional realm, she went through a breakup with ex-fiancé Future, the father of her first son. She says after they split she began to focus on self-love.
“I told myself I’ve got to figure out how to navigate in the next chapter of my life. All the things I was aspiring to have at that time, even thinking about love, I was like, ‘It’s going to happen when it’s supposed to,'” she says. “But I can’t love anybody to the best of my ability if I’m not loving on myself … So I put more focus on me, taking care of me; it was the best thing I could have done.”
Part of Ciara’s self-love is displayed through her commitment to “working out and eating as a lifestyle.” Though she “started taking training really seriously” once she became an entertainer, she’s had to alter her routine after three pregnancies resulted in diastasis recti, which she describes as her ab muscles splitting after giving birth. “I’ve accepted that my body will never be what it used to be,” she says. Her favorite workout when she’s seeking clarity is boxing, which she says is part of her “therapy.”
Ciara also discussed some recent business moves, such as going independent and asking for her masters. Reflecting on the latter, she says, “That was one of the best things that could have happened … in my life. The power of ownership, the power of taking control, the power of believing. I get goosebumps thinking about it.”
Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.