Gwen Stefani appears to ooze confidence and has become a style icon thanks to her avant-garde approach to fashion – but you may be surprised to learn that she hasn't always seen herself in such a favorable light.
The 53-year-old made a heartbreaking confession about her appearance and her previous battles with her mental health in a new interview in which she admitted she is learning to be kinder to herself.
"I went in and out of liking myself. I honestly think I was pretty hard on myself," she told Glamour. "But at the same time, I look back and I think, 'God, I was just being me and I got here because of that.'"
Gwen added: "So, I had to do a lot of forgiving of different things at certain times and trying to be kind to myself."
© GC ImagesWhen it comes to putting her mental health first, Gwen has her music to help her. "Honestly I have been writing a lot of music lately," she said. "I feel like that helps me so much with my mental health because a lot of thinking goes into it. Songs can cure you. I also think being creative helps me."
When she's not in the studio, the mom-of-three may turn to exercise to boost her serotonin levels. "I don't exercise every day. I don't wanna exercise every day, but when I do, I feel so much better," she added.
"I'm talking about like a million times better. So, I think that's important. I think that just trying to find balance, you know, in everything, from prayer to exercise to making out with my husband, like all of it."
© GettyGwen is married to country music singer Blake Shelton after they met on the set of The Voice in 2014.
Both went through their own respective divorces in the summer of 2015, with Blake splitting from Miranda Lambert in July after four years of marriage, and Gwen ended her marriage to Gavin Rossdale in August after 14 years.
© gettyThe Just a Girl singer also touched upon navigating her career now that she is in her 50s and admitted so far, she hasn't experienced any negativity about her age.
"I honestly, I have not really experienced ageism. It's probably around the corner though. I've been so blessed in this whole journey," she said.
© Getty Images"I've been able to just glide to the next chapter and we talked about this earlier, but I think it's just about keeping your eye on the ball, which is just trying to keep your eye on whatever is your purpose and what you're supposed to be doing next and trying to serve.
"And that's what I try to do. I feel like, I give the pen to the man upstairs to write the story and here we are."
