Love in the limelight hasn’t always been easy for Usher. The 45-year-old star reflects on that and more in this week’s cover story, all about his ups and downs and happy life now as a newlywed and Super Bowl-approved superstar.

Back in the late ’00s Usher had fallen for stylist Tameka Foster, a few years after his fan-beloved relationship with TLC’s Rozonda “Chilli” Thomas had ended. But upon marrying Foster in 2007 he started to face backlash from fans who didn’t approve of the relationship.

“I think I became very closed and then felt attacked in many ways,” he says of that period. “It was a bit unconventional in a time when I felt like my female fans were judgmental of the woman that I chose.”

He still isn’t sure what all of the public scrutiny over Foster, who’s seven years his senior, stemmed from, though he has his speculations.

“She was a dark-skinned woman, and maybe they didn’t want to love her in a way because of maybe some reason that had to do with themselves,” he hypothesizes, “I don’t know. Or maybe she was not the best reference because of how she handled herself. That’s not for me to be concerned about. I did my part and what I thought was right.”

Around that time, the couple participated in an in-depth interview with Essence, where Usher reflected on how the backlash affected their relationship.

“Ours is not a typical love story, but it is a true one,” he conveyed to the publication. “Tameka and I have been fortunate enough to go through the thick of it in the beginning. We’ve had that opportunity to huddle up as a team, to make sure that we’re clear and speak as one voice.”

The star followed his heart, but ultimately, things didn’t work out between the pair, who divorced in 2009.

“We ended up having two children together,” he says now of sons Usher V, 16, and Naviyd, 15. He and Foster struggled through a difficult custody battle years ago, but now, “We are cordial with each other,” he says. “We ain’t good, good, but we good. You know what I’m saying?”

Usher recently married music executive Jenn Goicoechea, with whom he shares daughter Sovereign, 3, and son Sire, 2, after his successful Super Bowl performance. Foster is currently starring in the new WE tv reality series Bold & Bougie.

As for their relationship now,

“It’s an 18 year process of which we all understand that, and we’re doing our best to raise two responsible, respectful and happy children.”