Yahoo Finance The Weeknd Wants Kids 'Eventually': 'Having Children Would Influence Me and Inspire Me More'
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The Weeknd sees fatherhood in his future.
The "Save Your Tears" singer, 31, tells GQ that though he sometimes believes he doesn't want a family, he is convinced that becoming a parent is something he'll pursue "eventually."
"I eventually want a family. I know I say I don't, but I know I do. I want children," says the artist, whose real name is Abel Tesfaye.
Asked why he has claimed he doesn't want kids in the past, The Weeknd said, "I guess I say it because I like the trajectory of my career. But also I feel like having children would influence me and inspire me more."
As for explaining some of his more R-rated lyrics to his future kids one day, he says that won't be an issue: "Absolutely. And I'm prepared for it. At the end of the day, it's my art. And that's who Daddy was."
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The Weeknd also opened up to GQ about being "sober lite" and quitting drugs, identifying the fact that he wants to have a family one day as a reason behind his drive to stop with drugs.
"I do [drink alcohol]. Occasionally. I'm not a heavy drinker, as much as I used to be. The romance of drinking isn't there," he says, adding that marijuana is allowed in his "sober lite" lifestyle.
"Drugs," he says, however, "were a crutch. It was me thinking that I needed it. And not doing the work to figure out how not to need it. And I've spent the last few years realizing that and thanking God that I don't need it. Because for a lot of people, it's hard to shake it. But I knew I didn't want it."
He adds that "making great music is a drug. It's an addiction and you want to always have that."
"Fortunately, I've been through that and I've learned how to channel it. And I've experienced enough darkness in my life for a lifetime," says The Weeknd. "I feel lucky that I have music, and that's probably why I haven't dabbled into too much therapy, because I feel like music has been my therapy."
Back in January 2017, The Weeknd told GQ that he wants to have kids more than he wants to get married. "I feel like I'm the kind of guy that would have kids before getting married. The first thing would be kids. Marriage is scary to me, man," he said at the time.
