Just FYI: Janet Jackson doesn't have a problem with dating younger men.
In fact, she prefers it, the singer tells Vibe.
"I came to realize that younger men had less of a problem with who I am than older men," said the 40-year-old Jackson, whose boyfriend is music producer Jermaine Dupri, 33. "With the younger guys, there was less ego. Things were less competitive. They weren't threatened by who made more and who made less."
Dupri gives Jackson's self-esteem a boost.
"When I look at Jermaine, I see myself. I feel as if I'm looking in the mirror. The connection I feel with him I have never felt with anybody else," Janet said.
The couple, who have been together for five years, recently made headlines by hinting that they're planning to get married, possibly on September 26, the date Jackson's new album, 20 Years Old, hits stores.
"Everyone's been asking me about it," Jackson said of the wedding rumors. "And if it's meant to happen, it'll happen."
One thing she tells Vibe will definitely happen, regardless, is motherhood.
"I do and I will [want to have kids]. I didn't before, but with Jermaine I do," she said.
Whether she becomes Mrs. Dupri or not, Jackson doesn't plan to change her risqué image. The singer, who recently dropped more than 60 pounds, appears on the Vibe cover wearing nothing but bikini bottoms and a shell necklace. Will she ever stop posing provocatively?
"Of course," Jackson said. "When I'm 80. That's when I'll call it quits."
For all her success, Janet is perhaps best known nowadays for her famous Super Bowl halftime show performance, during which her nipple was exposed by Justin Timberlake in a controversial "wardrobe malfunction." See if you can top that this winter, Prince. On second thought, don't).
Jackson says she has put the incident behind her.
"It's just over and done with. It's old. It's the past. It's history. I'm onto something new. Everybody got their licks in -- those who wanted to -- and it's done," she said.
