Miranda Lambert on Her 'Long Journey' to Finding Love, Peace and Happiness

Miranda Lambert's journey to finding love hasn't always been an easy one. In People's latest issue, the mag's cover star opened up about her "long journey" to love and how she's found peace and happiness within herself.

"Finding happiness and being at peace with yourself, it's a long journey, but I've really gotten to a great place," Lambert told People. "My manager's been good about asking me to 'sit in my life.' Country music is a huge part of my life, but it's not fully who I am."

Lambert says she began to reevaluate her life eight years ago, around the time she split from her ex-husband, Blake Shelton.

"When I turned 30, I started to take life in a new direction and really start to understand myself a little better," she said. "And going through hard things obviously makes you get to know yourself better. When you get broken down pretty good, you look at the mirror and you go, 'I have to spend some time with me, learn who I am and what I want.' I got to a really good place with myself. Then I met my husband."

Lambert and Brendan McLoughlin, a retired NYPD officer, tied the knot in Jan. 2019 after a whirlwind, three-month romance -- the perfect partner for the country singer, per Lambert's mother, who joined on the interview.

"One look at her tells that story," Beverly June Lambert shared. "She is comfortable and confident, and it shows. Brendan is a good example of a partner. He walks beside her, not beneath or above her. Navigating a new marriage, a pandemic, touring, career changes, family health crises, etc. isn't easy. But there they are just killin' it."

And their happiness isn't something Lambert is hiding, with the 38-year-old "If I Was a Cowboy" singer saying she doesn't "give two s***s about people's opinion of her, her marriage, her music or anything else for that matter.

"I want to be open about how happy we are," Lambert stressed. "I just don't give two s***s about people's opinion of me, my marriage, my music or anything else. I just care that I'm being me. He jumped right into this lifestyle — there's a learning curve taking a New Yorker straight to the woods — but it was a big laugh. It's nice to have a partner in that, someone by your side that supports you, loves you and believes in you. He loves me for me. It's a really cool thing to have in my life, at this point in my life."

Lambert hasn't shied away from talking about the tough moments either, she reflected on her split from Shelton in are interview with CBS News last month, where she shared how she handled the tabloid frenzy around her divorce.

"I wasn't prepared for that," Lambert admitted. "Well, I don't think anybody is. And it's not nice sometimes."

As for dealing with the constant tabloid rumors of what went wrong in their relationship, Lambert said she had a very specific way of handling it. "I think you got to take it with a grain of salt and know that I'm a singer-songwriter so luckily I can tell my whole truth," she shared. "I will not lie in my music."

While it surely wasn't nice to deal with, Lamber told People that the "hard stuff" has taught her some lessons that she's "thankful" for today, despite the hurt they caused her at the time. 

"Without the hard stuff — the chaos, the crazy schedule, the heartbreak, the falling in love, the falling out of love — I wouldn't be who I am. I'm thankful for the lessons, even though they hurt at the time."

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