The Love The Way You Lie singer said that since being assaulted by former boyfriend Chris Brown in February 2009, she has learned to put herself first.
Now happily dating baseball star Matt Kemp, the 22-year-old told Marie Claire, 'I couldn't have been the woman I am today, or the friend, or the sister, or the artist, or the role model if I didn't go through what I went through in the last year and a half.'
'The most important thing is to be happy and true to yourself,' she said. 'I don't want to look back at this 30 years from now and say, 'I did it all to make them happy and I didn't enjoy'.'