Solange Knowles has always used her platform and music to share empowering messages on feminism, race and identity. Now, the singer has used her separation announcement as an opportunity to talk about emotional development, confronting fear and protecting her truth.

Knowles shared a statement on Friday (1 November) that confirmed her split from Alan Ferguson who she had been married to for five years. She described Ferguson as “a phenomenal man” who “changed every existence” of her life after meeting him over 11 years ago.

But the focus of Knowles’ post wasn’t about her relationship with Ferguson: it was about the relationship she has with herself.

“The past two years have brought me more physical and spiritual transition and evolution than ever before,” she wrote. “My body left me with no choice but to listen and be still. Within that stillness I begin my journey in confronting my worst enemy, fear.”

She continued: “I’ve lived my best and worst moments in front of the lens and gaze of the world since I was a teenager. I’ve always tried to live in my truth no matter how ugly or full of love it is. I’ve also tried to carve out the space to protect my heart, and my life as it unfolds, evolves, and changes.”

After mentioning the separation, she added: “I find it necessary to protect the sacredness of my personal truth and to live in it fully just as I have before and will continue to do. It is unfair to not have power of your own story as you shape and mold and rewrite it yourself.”

This isn’t the first time that Knowles has written about fear in such a candid and relatable way. In an essay for Teen Vogue a couple of years ago, she penned a letter to her younger self.

“There will be fear. A lot of it,” she wrote. “There will be triumph. A lot of it. There will be constellations you want to reach for but can’t put your finger on.”

She continued: “You will trace them like the scars on your body you got from trouble and the times of your life. you will take the long way to get to these Orions. The long way will become a theme in your life, but a journey you learn to love.”

Although her words are comforting for anyone who is experiencing a breakup, they are also an empowering read for everyone who is on a personal journey right now. 

Images: Getty