She's never been one to shy away from the spotlight, and now Ciara garnered herself some added exposure by covering the September 2013 issue of Paper magazine.

While rocking designer duds from Missguided and Natalie Joos for the Danielle Levitt-shot spread, the "Body Party" hitmaker dished about her struggles with privacy and reveals details about her relationship with rapper Nayvadius Cash.

Check out a few highlight from Ciara's Q&A session below. For more, be sure to visit Paper!

On her personal life:
"I thought it was better to be private. But self-reflection helped me to say, 'You need to live more. If you worry so much about things, your head is going to explode. Just live. Something had to give.' I was holding back so much that I wasn't letting myself explore and live."

On Nayvadius:
"He's very understanding. And he's my best friend. It's important to have a feeling that you can talk about anything and know a person's going to be there and support you. When we're together, it's not about who we are. Being able to speak about it is a whole different thing for me."

On forgetting the haters:
"I'm not thinking or caring too much about what anybody has to say anymore. Once you start over-thinking and worrying, you start getting close to insanity. I want my sanity and a life and happiness."