As Katy Perry and Orlando Bloom prepare to welcome their first child together, the singer opened up about their love — and how their temporary breakup in 2017 only made them stronger.
"It's really about an individual journey that makes the whole thing better. We both had to decide to go on that journey separately because it's not my half and your half that makes a whole," Perry said in a recent interview with People. "It's my wholeness and your wholeness that makes this whole thing happen."
She added that the ups and downs they’ve been through in their relationship have helped positively shape the people they are today.
“Yes, we have problems. Everybody has challenges in a relationship," she said. "If it's a real relationship, it's going to challenge you into your best self. I really understand what Justin Timberlake said about, 'You're my mirror,' because it's true. They bring up all this stuff you can't really see about yourself."
Perry, 35, and Bloom, 43, got engaged on Valentine’s Day last year, and they revealed this spring that they’re expecting a daughter together. Bloom also has a 9-year-old son, Flynn, from his previous marriage to model Miranda Kerr.
He and Perry had been planning a wedding this year, but like many engaged couples, they were forced to change their plans due to the coronavirus pandemic.
"I tried to do it this year, and it poo-pooed on me, so ask me again in another year!" Perry told People. "I went through the whole freakin' process. Right now, we're just so focused on this (pregnancy), which is exciting. Let's hope (2021) is different than '20. Every time we try to make a plan, it switches. It's really all about going with the flow these days!"
In the meantime, the couple has been hunkered down at home, with Perry filming several episodes of "American Idol" from her house. She's also been updating her fans via livestreams, and Bloom made an unexpected cameo in one of her recent videos.
“Hello livestream!” he said as he popped onto the screen shirtless and holding Perry’s dog, Nugget.
"Well, there you are. Welcome to my life and to my house!" Perry said after her fiancé's surprise visit.
The couple has also been spending quality time with family members, including Perry’s sister’s two young daughters. Perry said that Bloom’s time with her little nieces has only gotten him more excited about being a girl dad.
"He's really excited for a little girl," the singer told Boston radio station Mix 104.1 in June. "They say that little girls are daddy's little girl, and that's how it's gonna be."
As Perry’s due date nears, she also reflected to People on how far she and Bloom have come in their relationship over the past few years.
"It's a never-ending evolution, so it's not peachy-keen-jelly-bean all the time, but it's nice to have been able to show each other all the good, bad and everything in between and really fight for our best selves," she said. "Now, we just joke, like yeah, we still have things to work out — but champagne problems! We've gotten through a lot of hell."