Ciara doesn't feel she has to "prove anything to anybody"

The chart-topping star - who has been married to Russell since 2016 - said on The Breakfast Club: "Everyone's entitled to their opinion, but we don't have to live, I don't have to live my life to prove anything to anybody.

"I think sometimes, too, people just have a perspective because of the way they see life.

"And that might just be their way, but, you know, to me, too bad for them if they want to live life a certain way and love people a certain way. Too bad for them."

Ciara also hailed Russell as the "most amazing human being you can know".

She said of her husband: "[He's] the smartest, most intelligent black man that I have ever known, you know. What you see with him is really who he is. So, it's beautiful, it's different."

Ciara suggested that critics simply don't understand her or her relationship.

She explained: "It's like someone's saying the person doesn't love someone, but have you ever loved someone right? Have you ever been loved right? So, sometimes, people, to me, speak out of pocket because they just don't know."

Meanwhile, Ciara previously suggested that good communication is key to a happy marriage.

The singer said on Over It Radio: "I would say communication rules a nation.

"What I will give my husband a lot of credit for is that he can communicate really well. And I think maybe it's the quarterback in him because he's big on leadership, big on teamwork, big on being together."

The music star acknowledged that she can be "spicy and feisty sometimes". However, Ciara always feels comfortable when she's talking to her husband.

She shared: "I really feel grateful for our ability to communicate with each other. Because I feel like there's nothing I can't go to him about. And even if we have to find our way through it in the conversation, I feel very confident we're going to make it on the other side."