Ari Lennox is embarking on a new chapter of her life and career, which means a surge of honesty in what she says and how she says it. Fresh from announcing her departure from J. Cole’s Dreamville label over a contract dispute, the 34-year-old R&B singer is officially in her Soft Girl Era, a time of exposure, exploration, and enlightenment.
During an honest livestream, Lennox talked about something few fans probably could have guessed: She once briefly tried to date women. The “Shea Butter Baby” singer didn’t hold back when asked if she’d ever consider dating a woman. She did reveal her brief odyssey of self-discovery, however. “I tried for like one second, getting to know this person,” Lennox said. “Then it got weird, and I just felt insecure.”
What was so revealing about that statement was not its honesty but its brevity. Lennox explained that, while she loves women and has great female friends, she wasn’t quite prepared for the complexity of having romantic feelings for another woman. She confessed that the emotional intricacies of women beyond friendship were much harder to grasp than she thought. Even though it was a brief encounter with same-sex dating, it helped Lennox understand what she was and wasn’t looking for. Her thoughts weren’t from a place of judgment or queerphobia, as they embodied her process of coming to know herself and learning to feel things deeply.
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However, the moment said even more about Lennox and her maturing attitude toward life and love. Instead of pretending to be okay in spaces that feel uncomfortable or less familiar, she is trying to honor her true feelings, whatever they may be, even if they’re complex or messy. Her return to dating men wasn’t presented as a failure but as an honest reflection of where she feels most comfortable.
It’s an industry in which the carefully curated always trumps the authentically open, but Lennox was a breath of fresh air in his transparency. Her openness in sharing moments of doubt, unease, and insecurity with the public has fans clinging to her story because they see themselves reflected in her, those going through their identities, relationships, and emotional developments. As Lennox continues settling into her Soft Girl Era, she chooses emotional candor over social norms. From making difficult career decisions and rethinking personal relationships to adjusting to changes or acknowledging when something’s off, Ari Lennox continues to lead by example in living more authentically.
Her journey proves self-examination doesn’t always result in clear answers, and that’s perfectly fine. By embracing the uncomfortable and the unknown, Lennox is expanding as an artist and a human being. For long-term supporters of new and old, Ari Lennox’s openness is another reason to root for her as she embarks on this thrilling new leg of her journey on her own terms.
