There's a lesson to be learned out of everything we go through in life. I recall when I left [Jack Gordon], and my mother was so upset. "How could you allow him to beat you? You should really be upset with him." And I said, "Mother, I can't be." She goes, "Why?" I said, "Because I can't harbor hatred in my heart." I was extremely religious and extremely naïve. God took me through that for a reason, for me to learn the outcome.

J has told me about his past. I know what happened and why. But he is the one person who made me believe in my talent and whatever happened in the past, he's been a wonderful manager to me.

I married him because he told me it was the only way he could protect me. If we were just manager and client, my family could do whatever they wanted to get me back, but if I was his wife, they couldn't.

It's good to do things that are out of the norm. I'm a creature of habit and I like to stay in my own little comfort zone, but you have to reach out of that sometimes. And when you do that, you grow. And growth is what we all need and what we all strive for because we want to get better and better and better each day. And that's one of the things that I say to myself as far as a ritual that I have every day: "What can I do today to make it better than it was yesterday?"

When I wake up, I always thank God. I'm grateful for another day, and he's allowed me this tiny thing that we should be appreciative of. As long as you know who you are, everything else will be OK. No one else can intervene or interfere or affect you, because you control your destiny, you control your tone, you control everything in your life.

I think women need to have a lobby. I feel that women need to speak out. The first time a man hits you is one too many times and you need to do something about it. That something about it is walking out that door and seeking for help and never looking back.

When you do the first season, you're putting your life out there and you're kind of hesitant about it, and then by the time you get around to the second season, you don't care. It's like, "This is who I am - like it, accept it, or don't." There are so many misconceptions that now they can see who I am.