John Legend Says He ‘Wasn’t A Great Partner’ To Chrissy Teigen At First

John Legend wasn't a perfect partner to Chrissy Teigen in the early days of their relationship. The "Save Room" singer, who met his now-wife in 2006 on the set of his "Stereo" music video, recently opened up about why he wasn't as committed to the model when they first started dating.

"I was more selfish then," he shared in a new interview this week. "I wasn't a great partner at the beginning of our relationship, even though I was very into her and very excited to be with her."

Legend, 43, added, "I was in my mid-20s, still not ready to fully be the committed partner I am now." He went on to recall the early days of their romance, saying they were "attracted to each other, but that level of attraction was more like infatuation" at that time. He admitted that he later began to mature and stop only thinking about himself to become the man he is today for the former Lip Sync Battle host.

"When you stop being so selfish when you think about not only the joy you get from a situation and the pleasure you get from it, but also think about your responsibility and your commitment in that situation. You just grow, and you mature," he continued. "Part of it is it's just a matter of time. You need time to become that person you want to be."

As we previously reported, Teigen said that when she was living in NYC and first met Legend, she was a bit of a “functioning alcoholic."

Now, he and Chrissy, 36, have been married for nearly a decade and share two children: daughter Luna, 6, and son Miles, 4. The Cravings cookbook author—who was previously open about having a life-saving abortion in 2020—is also currently pregnant with the pair's rainbow baby.

"Love, when it is able to stand the test of time, it has to be deeper and more real than that," John explained. "We've been through enough together where it's really fortified us and made us stronger. Those tests have made us grow together and realize things about each other that we didn't know."

Last month, Teigen and Legend celebrated their 9-year anniversary with a romantic music video. In response, Teigen captioned the post, “Happy anniversary to my absolute best friend and lover and partner in life. Thank you for being with me through all my mistakes, my ups and downs, my heartaches, for growing with me, for raising babies with me who are my proudest gifts. We have created the most wonderful life together and all I want to do for the rest of my life is watch you make the world better, feed people, bring people joy, make more babies and kiss on your old and gray face one day.”

Today is singer, songwriter, and producer John Legend's 43rd birthday. To celebrate the talented artist's big day, we've ranked his 7 best songs of all time, since his emergence on the music scene as a solo artist in 2004.

From his debut album, Get Lifted, "So High" was released in 2004.

Though he is featured on this Sam Smith song, John Legend's voice melds beautifully with the Brit. The two partnered up for 2015's Red Nose Day; proceeds from the single went to charities around the world who have pledged to make a difference in people's lives.

One of Legend's most popular songs of all time, from his fourth studio album, Love in the Future (2013). Legend said the song was inspired by his passionate love for his wife Chrissy Teigen, whom he married in 2013.

This song was originally being written for The Black Eyed Peas, but when John wrote it, he felt it was better as a ballad and kept it for himself.

The music video features John Legend dealing with a bunch of different women, who all actually represent different aspects of the same person. See how the clothes stay the same?

Legend belting, "Who do we think we are?!" gives us chills every single time we listen to this song.

"Green Light" shows a shift in musical style for Legend, opting for a funk and electro sound. Andre 3000 was recruited because "it just sounded like something he’d do." He immediately loved it and was on board, writing and recording his rap soon after.