*Mary J. Blige is speaking out about her bounceback journey following her traumatic divorce from ex-husband Kendu Isaacs in 2016.
The couple called it quits after she accused him of having an affair, and their split left her with major financial hardship.
Speaking to NYC radio icon Angie Martinez on the IRL podcast, Blige admitted she is ready to find love again but she’s not willing to sacrifice her joy and self love for it.
“Now I want love, but love for me first,” she said. “The love for Mary, I found it. And I’ll f*ck anybody up that tries to take it away from me, because it’s so real and so good, and I worked for it, and I earned it. And I keep having to work on it every single day — and it’s a job, it’s a real job.”
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Later in the interview, Blige touched on disliking herself during her youth. “I hated the sound of my voice, and I’d be like, ‘Ugh, that’s me?’ Now, it’s like, ‘I need to hear that again.’ It’s a miracle,” she said.
The songstress previously confessed in an interview with Elle that she didn’t feel beautiful until after her split with Isaacs.
“I didn’t feel beautiful-like for real for real, not just ‘Hey, I’m pretty’ but actually believing it-until about 2016,” she shared. “If you’ve been beat down mentally by someone, you’re never pretty enough. You’re never smart enough. Nothing’s ever good enough.”
Mary confessed that while filming “Mudbound” during her marriage, “I had to pay myself the highest compliments, even if I didn’t believe it, just so I could build myself up,” she said.
“I would do it in the morning, because that’s the time when your hair is not done and you don’t have on makeup. You’re just kind of dealing with yourself for real,” she added. Blige then revealed her daily morning affirmations include telling herself, “Good morning, Gorgeous. I love you. I got you. I need you.”
Scroll up to watch her full conversation with Angie via the YouTube clip above.
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