Christina Aguilera is not letting haters get under her skin when it comes to her career, body and beyond.
“I have a maturity now where I just don’t give a f–k about your opinion. I’m not going to take it on,” Aguilera, 43, told Glamour in a cover story published on Thursday, August 15. “It must be your responsibility to take up your space. Other people’s opinions of me are not my business.”
Throughout her time in the spotlight, Aguilera’s self-esteem was based on her weight. “When you’re a teenager, you have a very different body than when you’re in your 20s,” she said. “I started to fill out, and then that was unacceptable because it was like, ‘Oh, she’s getting thicker.’ Then I had industry people: ‘They liked your body and how you were as a skinny teenager.’”
Now, with her newfound mindset, Aguilera told the outlet that she hopes her children adopt her perspective on life.
“Your kids trigger things in you that you don’t want them to go through,” she said. “And it’s almost like you’re reliving this whole thing again. … You just want the best for your kids.”
Aguilera, who noted that she’s “seen so much so young,” explained that she’s hoping to find a balance between giving her children safety and freedom.
“I love my son and my daughter so much, and you do want to shield and protect them from the world,” she told the outlet, while getting emotional. “But they have to learn their own lessons.”
Aguilera became a mom when she welcomed her son, Max, now 16, with her ex-husband, Jordan Bratman. Aguilera shares her 10-year-old daughter, Summer Rain, with her fiancé, Matt Rutler.
Earlier this year, Aguilera revealed that her daughter may have an interest in pursuing a career in entertainment.
“She’s so enraptured by the world behind the scenes and the production of everything, and she loves the band and the background singers,” Aguilera told Vogue in January. “She wants to take drum lessons — she is about it. She gives me so much love and support. Before I go on stage, she knows I get nervous, and she’s like, ‘You’re going to do great, mama.’”
Aguilera playfully referred to Summer as her “daught-ager,” a term coined by will.i.am that combines the words daughter and manager.
“I was [previously] working with someone who predicted her birth to me, a very intuitive person, and she said, ‘You’re going to have a daughter, and she’s going to be your protector. She’s going to be on this earth to watch over you and protect and support you,’” Aguilera recalled. “And I’m like, ‘Oh, really?’ And literally she’s embodying that, and it’s just the most beautiful [thing].”
