Ashanti on Confidence, Aging, and Self-Care: Embracing Her Prime at 42

At 42, Ashanti reveals how aging, self-care, and staying true fuel her confidence and keep her thriving.

By Medha deb

Created on Sep 24, 2025

At 42, Ashanti reveals how aging, self-care, and staying true fuel her confidence and keep her thriving.

Ashanti, the Grammy-winning singer and actress who burst onto the music scene in the early 2000s, continues to inspire fans and redefine beauty standards at age 42. In recent interviews, she has opened up about her journey with aging, how it has impacted her self-confidence, and the foundational role of self-care and mental wellness in her ongoing success.

The Evolution of Ashanti’s Confidence

For many artists, surviving decades in the spotlight requires resilience, adaptability, and a strong sense of self. Ashanti exemplifies this, revealing that her confidence has only grown stronger with age. While she rose to fame as a musical ‘It girl’ in the early 2000s, Ashanti now feels more at home in her own skin than ever before.

In a candid conversation, she shared, “As you evolve and age, you become more comfortable in your skin. I might put on a bikini a little more often now than when I first came out. A lot of the confidence comes from within…. For me, it’s just about staying true to myself and accentuating the good things I love about myself. I’m proud to be happy with who I am.”

Age brings clarity and confidence: Ashanti credits her comfort with her appearance and persona to the wisdom gained through the years.
Staying true to oneself: Rather than chasing trends, she focuses on what makes her genuinely happy and fulfilled.

Staying Grounded: The Power of Self-Care

With a busy schedule packed with music, acting, and promoting her latest projects, Ashanti faces the same pressures as anyone balancing work, travel, and health. Her secret? She creates boundaries and consistently replenishes her mind and body through conscious self-care.

She reflects, “With the position I’m in right now, I have to work hard and make some sacrifices. So, boundaries are important. I can do a bunch of interviews, but when I’m down to three or four hours of sleep, I have to carve out some self-care time. Creating a balance when working hard and going after all these amazing opportunities is essential.”

Key Elements of Ashanti’s Self-Care Routine

Setting boundaries on work commitments and prioritizing rest.
Practicing mindful eating and hydration. She’s a dedicated pescatarian, aiming even for a vegetarian lifestyle.
Incorporating exercise and body movement into her routine, even when on tour.
Mental health check-ins and gratitude practices.

Beauty Starts from Within: Nutrition and Wellness

Ashanti strongly believes that true beauty requires nurturing the body from the inside out. She stresses the connection between nutrition, wellness, and outward appearance, especially while managing the temptations and logistical challenges of life on tour.

She shares, “What goes into your body should go hand-in-hand with your beauty routine. I have been on tour for months, and tour food is not good, but I am back on track with juicing and incorporating healthy food and exercise into my routine.”

Inside-Out Wellness Habits	Benefits
Pescatarian diet (moving toward vegetarian)	Increases plant intake, can support heart health and energy
Regular juicing	Boosts nutrients and hydration
Exercise, even on the road	Maintains fitness and enhances mood
Hydration focus	Vital for healthy skin and cognition
Mindful self-care breaks	Reduces stress; improves mental health

Maintaining Mental Health & Emotional Well-Being

Mental health is the foundation of Ashanti’s confidence and success. She speaks openly about how her mental wellness shapes her approach to challenges and change. “My mental health is amazing. I’m in a state of just being super grateful. I’m so blessed, and my heart is full.”

Gratitude: Ashanti credits her sense of thankfulness for keeping her grounded and positive, regardless of life’s ups and downs.
Self-acceptance: She embraces her growth and is unapologetically herself, inspiring others to do the same.

Balancing Fame, Opportunity, and Self-Preservation

From her breakthrough in the early 2000s to her current status as an entertainment powerhouse, Ashanti knows the value and cost of success. Maintaining boundaries around her time and energy is not a luxury, but a necessity. She deliberately carves out quiet time and prioritizes wellness, even when it means turning down professional opportunities for the sake of her health and happiness.

Life Lessons and The Gifts of Experience

Looking back, the path to Ashanti’s success was anything but straight. Even as a prodigy who graduated high school at 16 and faced early career rejections, she remained focused and driven.

Perseverance: Ashanti overcame setbacks, missed record deals, and big decisions such as turning down Ivy League scholarship offers to pursue her true passion—music.
Family support: Her parents encouraged her resilience and supported her ambitions, which was critical during tough times.

Despite the challenges, Ashanti’s breakthrough was meteoric. At only 21, she matched The Beatles’ iconic chart record with three Hot 100 hits simultaneously in the Top 10—an achievement that cemented her place in music history.

Creating Balance: Diet, Fitness, and Recovery

As a performer, maintaining physical health is paramount. Ashanti’s pescatarian/vegetarian diet is more than a trend—it’s a personal commitment to feeling her best. She’s open about the impact of busy schedules and travel on healthy living, returning to routines like juicing and mindful exercise to recalibrate.

Diet: Plant-based meals, lean proteins (mostly seafood), and homemade juices.
Movement: Regular exercise, even on the road. She sees fitness as an energy and mood booster, not just a means to a physique.
Rest: Prioritizing sleep and quiet recovery time for optimal performance inside and out.

Ashanti’s Impact: Redefining Beauty and Aging

By sharing her journey so openly, Ashanti challenges social norms about aging—especially for women in entertainment. Her evolving style, openness to change, and refusal to let age define her worth inspire fans to embrace life at every stage.

Normalizing change: Ashanti’s willingness to discuss how her routines and confidence have evolved normalizes the fluctuations and adjustments everyone faces while aging.
Promoting authentic beauty: By rejecting external pressures, she demonstrates that real beauty is found in self-acceptance, wellness, and gratitude.

Staying True Amidst New Opportunities

Despite her success and expanding career (she recently starred in VH1’s A New Diva’s Christmas Carol and is involved in powerful film and music projects), Ashanti is adamant about not losing herself in the process.

She continues to advocate for:

Work-life balance, keeping her wellness routines intact even during busy periods.
Staying rooted in her values despite external pressures.
Using her platform to spark dialogue around self-care and breaking outdated beauty standards.

Words of Wisdom: Advice for Younger Women

Ashanti’s journey is packed with advice for those looking to boost confidence and embrace self-love at any age. She stresses that confidence doesn’t come overnight—it’s cultivated through deliberate self-care, boundary-setting, and embracing personal strengths.

Honor your uniqueness: Don’t shy away from the qualities that set you apart.
Prioritize your well-being: Without physical and mental wellness, sustained confidence is impossible.
Be grateful for every stage: Each year brings new insights—and new strengths.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Q: How has Ashanti’s confidence changed with age?

A: Ashanti states her confidence is stronger now than ever, thanks to the perspective and self-acceptance that comes with age.

Q: What self-care practices does Ashanti recommend?

A: She advocates for boundary setting, balanced eating (favoring pescatarian/vegetarian diets), hydration, exercising, and mindfulness for both mental and physical health.

Q: How does Ashanti maintain her physical and mental health while touring?

A: She stays vigilant about nutrition, hydration, and exercise, even when faced with unhealthy tour food, and always makes time for mental health check-ins and gratitude practices.

Q: What’s Ashanti’s advice on self-acceptance?

A: She believes in staying true to yourself, focusing on traits you love, and celebrating every part of your journey, regardless of age.

Q: How does Ashanti view the aging process?

A: She celebrates it as a time to become more comfortable, authentic, and grateful, seeing each year as a chance to grow stronger inside and out.

The Takeaway: Thriving at Every Age

Ashanti’s story is a testament to the possibilities that come with choosing self-acceptance, wellness, and gratitude over unrealistic expectations. In her own words, the key is to stay true to yourself and celebrate who you are—because every stage of life has its own beauty, confidence, and rewards.

References

Author

medha deb

Medha Deb is an editor with a master's degree in Applied Linguistics from the University of Hyderabad. She believes that her qualification has helped her develop a deep understanding of language and its application in various contexts.

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