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Grammy-award-winning artist Megan Thee Stallion, 29, is reveling in a season of overflow. One of her latest wins is being on the cover of L’Officiel’s Summer 2024 entertainment issue. During her exclusive interview with the magazine, the rapper opened up about the status of her healing journey.
“I feel like I’m definitely on my way to a better place,” the artist told the magazine.
“I know I’m not in a place I was in before,” she said, adding, “I don’t have it down pat.”
The artist has been bravely vulnerable about her struggles over the past few years, seeing as she’s experienced multiple life-changing events. Not only did her mother, Holly Thomas, and grandmother pass in 2019, but she was also shot by rapper Tory Lanez and shamed for it by the media.
During the interview, Pete admitted that things aren’t always perfect, but her ability to navigate tough times has changed.
“I’m not saying, ‘ Oh my gosh, I’m in just the perfect place. Everything is great. ‘ I do still have days when I’m like, ‘Man, I wonder why I feel like this?’ But at least now I have the resources to change my thought process.”
In her hit song Cobra, the rapper took fans on a journey through her mind and the internal battle she was having with depression and thoughts of self-harming. During the interview, the rapper, currently on tour, explained she felt pressure to be happy for everyone else even when she wasn’t holding up well.
“When you are going through a depression or when you are going through sadness…you don’t want to put that on other people,” Pete shared. “You don’t want to be the dark cloud of your friend group. You don’t want to be a burden.”
She continued, “Everybody puts on a face or a costume or a façade. I was one of those people who definitely was always like, ‘I’m fine, I’m fine, I’m fine. I’m strong; I’m tough. I got this, I can do this.’ But then it got to a point where I really couldn’t hide it anymore — at least in my personal life — and I was just like, ‘Forget this. I’m sad. What are we going to do about this?’”
For now, Megan is focused on protecting her mental health and continuing to flourish; she said she doesn’t want to go back to the old version of herself who pushed through challenges without processing her feelings.
“Now I’m like, ‘Well, wait a minute. Let me take my days to myself,’” she said of her progress. “I do have boundaries now. The way that I love myself is so different from the way that I did love myself… I’m not doing things to make other people happy. I’m just all about Megan right now, and I love it. I hope that I can continue this way.”