Ciara says break up with Future “was the best thing I could have done”

Though #Ciara is usually very private about her tumultuous relationship with her ex-fiancé and baby father, Future, the singer certainly didn’t hold back in her interview with Women’s Health, revealing how her coping mechanisms helped carry her through the split. Ciara and Future called it quits back in 2014 following claims of infidelity on the rapper’s side, leaving CiCi to raise their son, Future Jr., as a single mother just three months after giving birth.

The 37-year-old told the magazine that when she called it quits with her ex, she needed to learn how to love herself again not just for herself but also for the sake of her newborn baby. “I can’t be the best mom if I’m not loving on myself,” she said. “So I put more focus on me, taking care of me; it was the best thing I could have done.”

While the split would have undoubtedly been hard on Ciara, who had just given birth to Future Jr. at the time, she says she tried to focus on things that continued to bring her joy in life — that joy would’ve presumably included her now-husband Russell Wilson, whom she began dating in 2015. “When I put more focus on me, I felt like I grew into another level of womanhood,” Cici gushed. “Now, that’s a part of my armor in my life. I will always go back to it.”