The actress/singer opens up to ET about her hopeful post-Obama outlook, new childrearing book and her opposition to a Destiny's Child biopic.
"I'm not going to cry," Kelly Rowland swears over
the phone to ET. But just as the pop star assures herself she won't, on the day
of President Donald Trump's inauguration, Rowland finds herself unable to stop.
She tries to collect herself, but the crying persists. "Sorry
for the tears," Rowland, 35, apologizes.
Ahead of the Saturday premiere of her new Lifetime movie, Love By the 10th Date, about four
magazine employees juggling romance with career ambitions, Rowland got candid
with ET.
Not only did Rowland not hold back on the baby tips she received from Beyoncé, why her
forthcoming album won't be about sex and her lack of interest in a Destiny's
Child biopic, the girl group alum couldn't help but get emotional over
imagining who her "future daughter" will look up to without Michelle
Obama in the White House.
MORE: Kelly Rowland Reveals Tina Knowles Was Behind Destiny's Child Mannequin Challenge
ET: Piggybacking off
a central theme of Love By the 10th Date:
For you, what have been some of the challenges of balancing your career and
dating life?
Kelly Rowland: In
the past it was remaining focused on my career and trying to find the time for
dating. Making sure whoever was there was there with good intentions -- and
that I wouldn't be wasting my time! [Laughs]
With your
husband/manager, Tim Witherspoon, how did you know that you weren't wasting
your time?
With him, I knew that he was my best friend immediately. I
could talk to him about anything, and it was easy. Whether or not I knew he was
the one I should date, I just knew it was a bond above anything else, and I
couldn't imagine my days without talking to him.
Seeing as Love By the 10th Date is about a group
of girlfriends, what's your idea of a perfect night in with yours?
My perfect girls' night in is definitely vino. It's food. I
like a fireplace; it just feels really cozy and intimate. And great
company and laughter.
What's on your snack
tray?
It's filled with gouda. I'm a gouda girl all the way. And I
never, ever eat cheese, but when I do indulge in cheese, it's gouda and this
thick bread that I love so much, and it's so good with this wine. Mmm-mmm!
What are your
favorite ensemble chick flicks?
Waiting to Exhale
is definitely one. Bridesmaids is
definitely one. My favorite one most recently is How to Be Single with Dakota Johnson. It's such a cute little
movie, and it reminds me of being single.
In your upcoming
book, Whoa, Baby! (out March 28),
you're dishing advice to moms based on your own experiences with your 2-year-old
son, Titan. Who did you get your
advice from on how to be a new mom?
Every mother I knew -- literally! Every one that I met,
I asked so many questions. I was like, "OK, how do I keep my body? And how
do I keep my sanity? And how do I keep my husband?" I remember pulling
this one woman aside at the grocery store, because she saw me and she was like,
"How old is he?" I was like, "He's a month, and he's still not sleeping through the
night." I just completely unloaded on this woman, and she was like,
"Oh, honey, it's gonna be fine!" I sat in the line at the grocery
store and had a 30-minute conversation with this woman. If more women could do
that for each other, I think we would be a lot more sane and not have Trump as
president! [Laughs]
At the time,
Beyoncé's daughter, Blue Ivy, was almost 3. Did you pick Beyoncé's brain on
motherhood?
Oh, absolutely -- I mean, I didn't even have to ask! It
just was her, [TV personality La La Anthony] and my girlfriends back home in
Houston. I asked every question in the book, and they were all supportive.
What kind of advice
did Beyoncé give you?
Just making sure that I was resting and taking care of
myself as much as the baby. One of the best things La actually told me was:
"Make sure that you're able to really pour back into yourself, because if
you can't pour into yourself, what do you have left to give your husband and
your son?" So, whether it's a moment of meditation in the morning or going
for a facial or even a pedicure, getting away for a second to have a peaceful
moment to yourself, that's really important. Peace of mind, man. It's real.
When can we expect
the next album you've been working on?
We're bubblin'! I'm going to the studio today, and I'll be
there all weekend. I'm not ready to tell anything about the next record, but
trust me, I want it out there just as much as anybody.
I just learned so much in the process about myself and the
things that I want to say. I think after I had my son, in my head [I was]
really trying to find a space and a sound. I didn't want to just talk about sex
again -- I'm 35! Trust me, there are more things to talk about. A lot of life
has happened, and I wanted to be able to put that in perspective and put that
in words in a beautiful, well-thought-out way, and have fun on the record as
well.
MORE: Kelly Rowland Praises Beyonce's 'Lemonade' for Being 'So Transparent'
You act like all you talked about before was sex.
On my last record [2013's Talk a Good Game] I did! And "Motivation" [a song from 2011's Here I Am] was all about sex. I just
wanted to have a different perspective this time around.
What was the catalyst
for that sex-centric music?
For me, it was the space that I was in, and being
comfortable in my sensuality and wanting to talk about that. And I mean, sex
gets so much better at 30, so why wouldn't I want to talk about it?! [Laughs]
Lifetime has made
several films about an array of pop sensations from the same era as Destiny's
Child: one on Aaliyah, another on Britney Spears. How do you feel about a Destiny's
Child biopic?
I don't want a DC biopic -- I don't think about it at
all. Having all parties involved, discussing it, it [being] real -- I just
would want that. And I would hope that someone would definitely get permission.
I just feel like that would be something that I would want us to do on our
terms and not on anybody else's, and I'll keep that at that.
As someone who's
stood for sisterhood since Destiny's Child formed in the mid-'90s, what's your
reaction to seeing women and their supporters come together in solidarity for the
Women's March, just one day after President Donald Trump's inauguration?
After having such an incredible first lady -- wow, just wow.
OK…. [pauses; cries] After having
such an incredible first lady, and a woman who really embodied sisterhood and
embodied women being great together, we now have this new person there who -- it
doesn't feel like that. It just doesn't feel like that. And we can do it as
women, and as people.
If I have a daughter in the future, I just want her to know
that I care about her life, that I care about how people look at us and what's
important and our ancestors -- and what other women would do for us to
have rights and to have a voice. And that has to continue. The march was
incredibly important.
One thing that I keep holding on to is what Barack said a
couple of weeks ago: hope. His campaign was about change and hope, and that is
what he was so passionate about, so I keep telling myself to be hopeful -- hopeful
for my friends, hopeful for my family, hopeful for us people, and that's just
how I feel. Ah, I'm crying. [But I'm] gonna go put positive vibes out
everywhere.
Love By the 10th Date
premieres Saturday, Jan. 28 at 8 p.m. ET on Lifetime.