Fantasia Opens Up About Her Suicide Attempt: 'I Was a Broken Woman'

[..]Skyrocketing into the national spotlight on Idol, she recalls, "I was this Southern girl, green and gullible and eager to please." And while her career initially flourished, bad decisions -- both *professional and personal -- took their toll. The situation came to a head in the spring of 2010 during the divorce trial of her then-boyfriend, Antwaun Cook, with allegations and accusations of home-wrecking, pregnancy and sex tapes. The humiliating public scrutiny culminated on Aug. 9, 2010, when Fantasia attempted suicide by downing a bottle of aspirin. "I was a broken woman," she says.

Her personal rebuilding began when she *channeled that pain into her first Grammy-winning song, "Bittersweet" in 2011, but that was just the start of the healing process. Daily affirmations posted on her mirror -- "You are strong," "You are wise" -- and a copy of self-help bible The Power of Now keep her grounded today. Hitting that low point, she says, "put me in a place where I know what I do and don't want, musically. If I can't do what I feel, then I quit."[..]