Can you believe it’s been over 20 years since Christina Aguilera released Genie In A Bottle? Yes, really. Although the pop hit was iconic and established her as a vocal powerhouse, it was arguably Aguilera’s fourth studio album that carried many millennials through their tough teenage years. Stripped was an album that did exactly what it did on the tin: it stripped the glamour and gloss away from the former teenage popstar. 

And the results were powerful.

Aguilera explored her parent’s divorce on relatable songs like I’m OK and The Voice Within. She also found feminism in Can’t Hold Us Down and Fighter. Other songs like Dirrty and Infatuation saw her celebrate sexual freedom. And Beautiful has since been a standout track in the LGBTQ+ community. 

Basically: it was an album that wasn’t afraid of speaking the truth and championing all individuals. And it highlighted the fact that she hadn’t grown up in a “perfect” Disney style family.

So when Aguilera posted a photograph of her son’s birthday last night (14 January), it reminded fans that there’s no such thing as being “normal”. The singer – who is also went on to be a judge on The Voice – uploaded a picture that showed her sitting with her son and her ex-husband, Jordan Bratman. 

She captioned the image: “We make blended families work. It’s a beautiful thing.”

Aguilera, whose own parents divorced when she was a young child, proved that you don’t need to still be with a partner to make a modern family work. She’s helping to redefine what a “normal family” looks like in 2020. Considering that 42% of marriages end in divorce in the UK, this is a reassuring message.

Fans have shared their views on this, with one writing: “It takes very strong parents to be able to do this. Thank you for setting beautiful examples.”

Another wrote: “Awwww what an amazing message. Max is lucky to have you and Jordan making it work.”

And a third simply commented: “Beautiful thing indeed”. 

Of course, some families can’t make it work in the same way, and that’s OK too. This is just what works for Aguilera and her own family right now, and she’s happy to share the message that we all have our unique ways of redefining what the normal family is today. 

Images: Getty