Gabrielle Union, star of BET’s Being Mary Jane, covers the March issue of Women’s Health magazine. Inside, she reveals her secrets to looking young, her outlook on exercise – and gets real in a behind-the-scenes video exclusive about mean girls, equal pay, and sexual assault.
On her advocacy for the prevention of sexual assault:
“Everyone has a different idea about what consent is. And I think with electing Trump, and his history with women, it’s incredibly confusing to young people.”
On the idea of mean girls:
“Mean girls become mean women, and mean guys. This is not gender specific…it’s just mean people. We live in this age of where everyone is trying to ‘out-snark’ everyone…but the reality is, mean people have low self-esteem. I always say ‘I’ve never met a hater whose life I wish I had.’ The biggest, easiest way to broadcast to the world that you’re insecure, and that somebody has power over you, is to be a mean girl towards that person.”
On equal pay:
“When I first started, I just wanted a job, I didn’t even think about pay. And then you realize the men in our industry make a lot more than women, and then you realize what your white female counterparts are making versus the women of color, and there’s a huge hole there. I wish I could give a stack of facts and figures about how much black women make, Latinas, Asian women, Native women, lesbian women, women with disabilities…not to make you feel lucky, but to realize we have so much more work to do…there’s always someone else whose getting screwed.”
On her feelings towards diet and exercise:
“It’s not even like ‘I’m not going to work out, and I’m going to watch what I eat’. If I don’t feel like it, I don’t feel like it. I’m going to have a margarita. I’m not going to get the skinny one. I’m going to get the one with all of the freaking calories. I’m going to have a cheeseburger, I’m going to have a pound of bacon. And then maybe the next day, I’ll try to pull it together, but I try not to be too crazy with it. I’m never going to turn down a burger. Ever. Especially if there’s bacon and cheese on it.”
On what she’d tell her younger self:
“I would tell my younger self, ‘You don’t have all the answers; he’s not the one; you’re not going to die of a broken heart; there will be a thousand and one people who think you’re great; and ‘be nice to your little sister.’”
INSIDE THE MAGAZINE
On her type of man:
“I don’t know if I ever had a ‘type,’ but at this point in my life, I like guys who are taller than me and make more money than I do. And Dwayne [Wade, her NBA-star husband] is even all in with Cornhusker football now – I got him, like, addicted.”
On aging:
“I get asked all the time how I look so young. I don’t like needles. I’m not going to rule out Botox, but the idea of putting a needle in my face – I’m not there yet. I have pretty oily skin, I drink a lot of water, I don’t smoke, and I don’t have a hard life. Of course, as I’ve aged, everything on my body hurts! My hips, back, shoulders – lots of aches and pains. I dye my hair and people say, ‘You look young,’ but my gray hairs are saying, ‘She’s old as f-ck!’”
On her best tips for staying young:
“My best anti-aging tip is the ability to say no, no, and hell, no. We run ourselves ragged saying yes to every freaking thing, whether it’s to our family, spouses, or careers. I sleep eight hours a day and don’t let myself stress out. A lot of people call it selfish, but I don’t have any wrinkles.”
On her complicated relationship with exercise:
“I have a family history of diabetes, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol, and I know that can lead to an early death. I want to be a vital and energetic part of my family for a long time, not to be big mama in a rocking chain in the TV room, or huffing and puffing just going up stairs. I work out not because I get off on it, but because I want to live!”
On her attitude towards food:
“I’ve learned to be kind to myself. I’m not obsessive about food, like, ‘Oh no, I ate badly, so I have to stay in the gym for two hours!’ At the end of the day, did I enjoy that meal? Hell, yes! Am I going to stress out about it? Hell, no! And magically, the world doesn’t end because of what I ate.”
Get more of the interview and spread HERE.
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