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Common Opens Up About Painful Breakup With 'First Love' Erykah Badu

"It was hard to eat."

Common is continuing to open up about his past personal struggles. His latest admission sees him reveal how he dealt with his breakup from Erykah Badu, whom he dubbed his "first love."

Following the release of his new memoir Let Love Have the Last Word, the Chicago artist spoke with People about his romantic woes over the past few years and specifically how he grew from them.

"Some of the hardest work I've done on myself has been after breakups," he said before touching on his early 2000s romance with the neo-soul songstress.

"With Erykah Badu, that was my first love where you're just open and floating," he said. "When we split, I was 27 or 28. I was in a haze, just going through the motions. It was hard to eat."

After sharing that detail that is all too relatable to arguably anyone who's experienced heartbreak, he stressed that Badu was not at fault for the dissolving of their two-year relationship. Instead, he said it "just didn't go forward."

While the "Bag Lady" singer certainly had a lasting impact on him, Common said it was not until the ending of a later relationship that he decided to seek help.

"I was in another breakup after that that was heavy," he said, refusing to specify who the other party was. "That one honestly is what sent me to therapy."

Years after dating Badu, Common was romantically linked to Serena Williams and, most recently, political analyst Angela Rye. While both relationships failed, Common says, now that he has years of therapy under his belt, he is ready to take another shot at love and wants it to be something substantial.

"Talking about my intimacy avoidance and love addiction was an 'aha' moment for me," he said of his work in therapy. "The more you talk, the more you see the patterns you created for yourself... I'm open to a relationship now. I know how to communicate like an adult now. I want to be the best partner I can be."

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