Alicia Keys “wasn’t ready” for her second child when she became pregnant in 2014.
The 39-year-old singer is mother to 9-year-old Egypt and 5-year-old Genesis — both of whom she has with her husband Swizz Beatz — but has said she felt “so torn” after discovering she was pregnant with Genesis, as she didn’t think she’d be able to cope having a second child.
At the time, Keys was in the midst of finalizing her sixth studio album Here, while Swizz Beatz — whose real name is Kasseem Dean — had his hands full with studying at Harvard Business School.
Writing in her new book More Myself, an excerpt of which was shared with People magazine, she said: “I wasn’t ready for this, which is what I told the doctor. [I told the physician], ‘This is the worst time ever. I’m working on my next album. My husband just got into Harvard Business School. And I’ve been drinking — a lot.’ I left her office feeling so torn.
“The music I was creating felt more important and urgent than just about everything. I’d have to put off its release for at least a year if I chose to have the baby.”
Click continue to read what led her to make a final decision.
