Being a mom makes Monica really happy.
The R&B recording artist and mother of three opens up about her upcoming tour with Nicki Minaj, well as love and being a parent in the cover story for Hello Beautiful’s Mother’s Day issue.
She said she’s able to balance everything surrounded by her “strong tribe,” and she describes motherhood as something “sacred.
“It’s a level of happiness and joy, and it’s the unconditional love that you just can’t find in other places,” the “So Gone” singer said.
Monica shares daughter Laiyah, 10, with her ex Shannon Brown, and she shares sons Romelo, 16, and Rodney Jr., 18, with her ex Rodney “Rocko” Hill. Despite splitting from Hill in 2010, she considers his son Ramone, 28, like her own.
When explaining she’s been in Ramone’s life since he was 4, she said “he is absolutely no different than the other children in any way.”
The Grammy winner described co-parenting as “easy,” adding that “I have no feelings there. I just have responsibilities, which is to make sure that my kids feel happy and whole. And whatever that requires is exactly what I do.”
She shared that her village includes Ramone, who lends a hand with caretaking for his younger siblings. She said the dynamic brought them closer.
“It allowed me to have this unbreakable bond with him,” she said.
She also went into great detail about the ways she’s prepping her preteen daughter for teenhood and womanhood.
“I’m not directing her or redirecting her away from what her goals and dreams are,” the “Love All Over Me” singer said. “We’re pushing her towards it because I think she has the right support system to be a part of what she wants to be a part of.”
Monica added,:“I love the joy of having a daughter. I love the fun of us being able to talk about some of the female things.”
Some of those things include the topic of love, something the R&B legend knows plenty about.
“I get a chance to talk to her as she gets older about relationships, about what she requires, about understanding what she deserves, how she’s treated,” Monica explained, adding that she tries leading by example. “Her seeing the door being opened for me, her seeing me being cared for, treating and treated a certain way is really important.”
Monica further shared she’s in a relationship now that more closely aligns with the type of example she wants to set for her daughter.
“When you fall in love with someone that’s been your friend for a very long time, I think it’s different,” she said of her relationship with TV and film executive Anthony “Ant” Wilson. “This is the first time it’s ever happened to me. I’m new in the space, but I’m definitely enjoying it. I’m enjoying being supported. I’m enjoying being really loved in a way that allows me to be a lot softer than I typically am. There are a lot of firsts happening for me right now.”