While his troubles with the law are now years in the past, Justin Bieber is still strongly associated with a "bad boy" image he garnered after being arrested several times in 2014.
But a new, in-depth interview with the singer and his new bride, model Hailey Baldwin, shows a new side to the pop star: Justin Bieber the family man.
Baldwin, 22, opened up to Vogue magazine, saying that marriage "is very hard. That is a sentence you should lead with. It's really effing hard."
So hard, in fact, that just five months into their union she and Bieber, 24, are in therapy together, and still working through issues that lead them to break up for the first time in 2016.
Bieber also shared new details about his romance with Baldwin, including how they met at church and why they don't always see eye to eye.
"Fighting is good," Bieber said, calling Baldwin the "logical" partner while he's more emotional.
"Doesn't the Bible talk about righteous anger? We don't want to lose each other. We don't want to say the wrong thing, and so we've been struggling with not expressing our emotions, which has been driving me absolutely crazy because I just need to express myself, and it's been really difficult to get her to say what she feels."
But don't assume there's trouble in paradise. Baldwin told the magazine that, despite feeling lonely after tying the knot to Bieber and moving into their Canadian love nest, she has no regrets.
"I love him very much," she said. "I have loved him for a long time."
Bieber also dug into his dark side in the interview, bluntly discussing his previous battles with drug and sex addiction.
"He [God] doesn't ask us not to have sex for him because he wants rules and stuff," Bieber said.
He's like, I'm trying to protect you from hurt and pain. I think sex can cause a lot of pain. Sometimes people have sex because they don't feel good enough. Because they lack self-worth. Women do that, and guys do that. I wanted to rededicate myself to God in that way because I really felt it was better for the condition of my soul. And I believe that God blessed me with Hailey as a result. There are perks. You get rewarded for good behavior.
Bieber admitted he used drugs like Xanax to "put a screen between me and what I was doing," a recalled when security guards checked his pulse one night to see if he was breathing.
Thankfully, he's now five years sober, and Baldwin says she's "really proud of him."
"To do it without a program, and to stick with it without a sober coach or AA or classes - I think it's extraordinary. He is, in ways, a walking miracle."
Bieber also revealed that his celibacy was one reason why he and Baldwin rushed to get married last year, after just four months of dating. (The couple had previously dated before breaking up in 2016.)
When asked about what's next, the young couple say they're definitely not rushing to start a family.
"We're really young, and that's a scary aspect," said Baldwin. "We're going to change a lot. But we're committed to growing together and supporting each other in those changes."
Bieber also disappointed his fans as he ruled out new music any time soon, while saying it's all part of his growth and recovery.
"Just thinking about music stresses me out," he revealed.
"I've been successful since I was thirteen, so I didn't really have a chance to find who I was apart from what I did. I just needed some time to evaluate myself: who I am, what I want out of my life, my relationships, who I want to be "” stuff that when you're so immersed in the music business you kind of lose sight of."
[H/T: Vogue]
