Ciara’s powerful relationship

Ciara felt "very powerful" after deciding to abstain from sex until she married Russell Wilson.

The ‘Dance Like We’re Making Love’ hitmaker and the American football quarterback chose to wait until they tied the knot before getting intimate and Ciara believes it has made their relationship much stronger.

She said: "I really believe that when you focus on a friendship, you have the opportunity to build a strong foundation for a relationship – and once you know you’re really great friends and you’re what we call ‘equally yoked,’ where you share the same values or the same outlook on life, it kind of sets the tone. Knowing that you’ll always have the friendship and that you can always go back to it is very important, and very powerful … I have to give credit to my husband for sharing those views. It’s awesome how it all worked out."

And the 31-year-old singer – who has son Future, two, with an ex-partner and is expecting her first child with Russell – also feels it is important to have "standards" in a relationship.

She added: "Here’s how it works. We women think with our hearts and with our minds. When we see a guy, we envision what he’s like and whether this could be something special. Guys see us from an exterior point of view – that’s something I learnt along the way as a woman …

"It’s important to have a friendship. It’s important to have standards. You shouldn’t feel like you have to give your body away to get someone to like you."

Ciara hopes she is a good role model to her fans and is happy to open up about the things she is going through so she can help others dealing with similar issues.

She told the February issue of South Africa’s Cosmopolitan magazine: "I think that people can learn from your experiences when they happen in front of the world.

"You never know what someone else is going through, and you never know how sharing your situation might help them with theirs."