American singer and Level Up crooner, Ciara is the cover girl for InStyle magazine‘s April 2019 issue!

Tagged “Woman of ambition on a mission“, Ciara looks amazing on the cover wearing Givenchy and in the sit-down interview, she talks about her family, her post baby snapback, staying celibate before her marriage to Russell Wilson, her music and the viral #LevelUpChallenge.

Read excerpts below:

On her music and launching a new label

There are so many learning curves that I’m going through with having my own company, but it’s so fun. I feel like I’m growing, and I feel free.

On reclaiming her pre-baby waistline

I would wake up in the morning, breastfeed, eat a small meal, go train, come back home, pump, eat a small meal, breastfeed, eat lunch, and then go train again. I truly believe that self-love is key, and my definition of self-love is taking care of myself.

On knowing Russell was the one:

When mutual friends introduced Ciara to Wilson, their connection was immediate and undeniable. She knew she’d found the one.

“We both knew,” she says, wistfully recalling their first date in March 2015. “We both had that light-bulb moment.

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On abstaining while dating Russell

“That took a lot of prayer. It was hard. I can’t lie.”
If you want to get somewhere in life, you’ve got to have a compass. You’ve got to know where you really want to get to. And my heart, soul, spirit, and mind just desired to be loved. To be truly loved the right way. I knew I didn’t want to cry tears of hurt anymore. I didn’t want to keep going around in circles.

On the viral #LevelUpChallenge

I would be lying to you if I said I didn’t wonder what the fans would think, being that I hadn’t released new music in a while. I was told that it wasn’t going to be very successful. That people wouldn’t believe in it. I put it out, and as soon as I opened my eyes the next morning, people were re-creating the video. I get goosebumps just thinking about it.

Read the full interview on www.instyle.com

Cover credits

Photographed by Phil Poynter. 

Styling: Karla Welch. 

Hair: César DeLeön Ramirêz.

Makeup: Yolanda Frederick-Thompson.

Manicure: Miho Okawara.

Set design: Daniel Horowitz. 

Production: Kelsey Stevens Productions.