When she's up on the stage and under the bright lights as she performs, Christian singer and "American Idol" winner Fantasia Barrino appears to be a woman of strength and inspiration.
Some of her fans, however, do not know that she underwent a dark period in her life, which she overcame by relying on God.
After winning in the popular singing competition in 2004, Fantasia was thrown into the spotlight. While trying to make her mark in the music industry, the singer became the subject of vicious headlines from the media, particularly about her supposed illiteracy, and her relationship with his married boyfriend.
The weight brought by her new-found fame became too heavy for Fantasia to carry, eventually pushing her on the brink of death as she began contemplating suicide. She said the hurt she was feeling back then was just unexplainable.
"I came off of 'Idol' taking care of my whole entire family, so I went through a lot of dark times. It was almost like being in a glass box where everybody could see me but I couldn't get out of that box," the singer said, as quoted by XoNecole.
The Christian celebrity said despite all the people surrounding her, she felt alone.
"It was just me. No one wanted to help. Everyone just wanted to talk about it, but not many people were stepping up and saying, 'Hey, I wanna reach out'," she added.
Fantasia ultimately was able to overcome this dark period in her life, thanks to her strong faith in God. It also helped that some of her true friends reached out to her during those trying times.
"I can thank God for those times because being here at the age of 32 making it through so much, I feel like it was a part of my journey," she said.
Now, Fantasia is happy to share how God helped her get her life back on track.
"There's not a day that goes by that I don't meet someone––young, old, black, white, female, male––that comes up to me and wants me to talk and encourage them. God allowed me to go through certain storms and certain tests to have a testimony and share it to help somebody else along the way," she said.
