Fantasia Barrino Says ‘Soulmate’ Husband Is the ‘First Person That Ever Called Me Beautiful’ (Exclusive)

Fantasia Barrino had a moment of pure panic earlier this month.

While traveling for promotion Purpleproducers Oprah Winfrey and the new film adaptation of Steven Spielberg’s Broadway musical, Barrino, 39, says she called home and was pretty scared.

“My husband answered and it sounded like a bunch of screaming, the first thing I thought was something [bad] happened, so I immediately hung up the phone to get ready,” she tells PEOPLE in this week’s issue of calling her husband of eight years, Kendall Taylor.

“I called him like, ‘Honey, you have to tell me what’s wrong,’ and he said, ‘Tasia, you just got nominated for a Golden Globe!’ I literally started crying. Like that, that ugly cry.”

Color Purple It eclipsed box office predictions by earning the second biggest Christmas opening of all time

In the new hit and acclaimed film, based on Alice Walker’s 1982 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, Barrino stars as Celie, a black woman from the 1920s South who struggles with cruel abuse, racism and low self-esteem before finding her voice, power and freedom with the help of other women.

Fantasia Barrino and Kendall Taylor.

Steve Granitz/WireImage

Celie and I have a lot in common when it comes to family situations, losing things and feeling ugly and unseen, says the R&B singer and mother of three.

But as for Barrin, she credits Taylor, a businessman with whom she shares two-year-old daughter Keziah, with helping her heal some of those old wounds.

“My husband was in the trenches with me,” Barrino says. “He came into my life and was the first person to call me beautiful and queen every day, even when I felt like I didn’t look good or my hair was on my head.”

Fantasy Barrino.

Unique Nicole/Getty

That’s why telling her the news of the nomination was even more special. “It means a lot to me to share this moment with him. He has invested so much in my life and I feel like he is my soulmate.”

Fantasia Barrino in purple.

Warner Bros.

When she saw the film for the first time, “my husband went with me and at the end he grabbed my shoulders and whispered in my ear, ‘I’m going to have to get a grip. I’m going to cry.’ ”

Barrino adds, “My husband and I are both in therapy and there were parts of the movie that touched him. This movie is a healer.”

For more on Fantasia Barrino’s life and rumored new role, check out this week’s issue of PEOPLE.

Purple it’s in theaters now.

Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education