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Janet Jackson gets candid about motherhood and learning to love your body – and balancing it with the showbiz industry.
The iconic singer spoke to editor in chief at InStyle magazine Laura Brown about her journey.
The 52-year-old is estranged from her third husband, Wissam Al Mana (43), having separated from him in April last year, three months after welcoming their son, Eissa.
In the interview, the Together Again singer spoke about her 20-month-old son who’s accompanying her on tour.
“My son, Eissa, wakes me up in the morning around 7.30 or 8,” Janet said.
“I change his diaper. Breakfast is prepared, and he has that. I’ll go back into my room. That’s when I answer my mail. Because overnight I get a ton of mail.”
“I’ll wash my face, brush my teeth, climb back into bed, answer more mail, make my calls, and around 10am I’ll have my breakfast, and my son has his second breakfast with me.
“Most of the time I’ll start getting ready at 11. So I’ll have showered and everything by then. I’ll either work out or try to work out at the venue.”
The For Colored Girls actress, who had her first child at the age of 50, thanks her trainer, Paulette Sybliss, for keeping her mentally and physically fit.
“She knows how crazy my life is and she understands it.
“Sometimes I have an emergency call and I’ll say, ‘I really want to work out, but I don’t know how long this is.’ She’ll say, ‘If you want, I’ll wait for you.’
“And other times when I’ve been so mentally exhausted, we’ll just take a two-mile [3km] walk and talk,” she said.
Janet also spoke about how self-image is important and how tough it is to love your body at times.
“I remember growing up and being in this business . . . you had to be a certain size, you had to be thin to be an entertainer.
“That’s just this business I’m in. I think it’s changed, thank God. People are more accepting of others. Which is the way it should’ve been from the jump. That can really mess with you,” she said.
She also believes that young people who are in the industry should realise how hard it actually is.
“It’s tough. They have to know who they have to be and who they are.
“Not what someone else wants them to be, not what they think they should be by looking at someone else. Individuality is beautiful.
“God made you as you are, and that’s beautiful. You are unique, special. You don’t want to look like someone else or be that other person,” she adds.
Asked about her about her insecurities, Janet said, “I would have to say my body. A lot of it has to do with experience, getting older. Understanding, realising that there isn’t just one thing that is considered beautiful. Beautiful comes in all shapes, sizes and colours.”
Watch the interview here:
Sources: InStyle, E News, Instagram/janetjackson
