Beyonce Knowles wanted an 'empire' before baby

Beyonce Knowles wanted to build her "empire, relationship and self-worth" before becoming a mother.

The 30-year-old singer - who is expecting her first child with husband Jay-Z - has got to the stage in life where she isn't concerned by other people's opinions and has achieved great success in her career and so feels "blessed" to be embarking upon motherhood.

She said: "It was important to me that I gave myself time to focus on becoming the woman I want to be, building my empire, my relationship, and my self-worth, before I became a mother. Now God has blessed us with the ultimate.

"I am finally at the stage in my life where I am not so concerned with other people's opinions about my life decisions. It is so liberating to really know what I want, what truly makes me happy." 

The 'Best Thing You Never Had' hitmaker put "a lot of thought" into revealing her pregnancy at the MTV Music Awards in August, but she thought it would be "more powerful" to simply unveil her baby bump.

Beyonce added in an interview with Harper's Bazaar magazine: "I put a lot of thought into how I wanted to unveil it. It was important to me that I was able to do it myself. I was extremely nervous.

"It was the toughest red carpet I ever did. I decided to say nothing and proudly show my baby bump. I felt it was more powerful to see the love and enthusiasm as opposed to saying anything."

The pop megastar also explained she and her husband - who have been married for three years - have an "unbreakable friendship", and she insists Jay-Z brings out the "best version" of her.

Beyonce said: "We have been together since I was 20 years old. We took our time and developed an unbreakable friendship before we got married.

"We focused three years on our marriage and found that it brought us an even stronger bond and connection. If you are with the right person, it brings out the best version of you."

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