How Motherhood Changed Beyoncé’s Life

In true Beyoncé fashion, the superstar delivered her fans the ultimate surprise via her Instagram account on Wednesday by announcing she’s pregnant — with twins!

The superstar, 35, and her husband Jay Z, 47, are fiercely private when it comes to their relationship and family, but the Lemonade singer — who welcomed Blue Ivy, 5, in 2012 — hasn’t held back when it comes to talking about how much motherhood has changed her life.

“[Having a daughter] just gives you purpose and all of the things that my self-esteem was associated with, it’s all completely different,” she told Anderson Cooper the same year she gave birth to Blue Ivy. “I realized why I was born and more than anything all of the things I want to pass onto my child and the best way of doing that is not by preaching or telling her but showing her by example, which is one of the reasons I’m here.”

Shortly after celebrating her daughter’s first birthday, the Grammy winner reflected on giving birth to Blue, telling Vogue it was “the best day” of her life. “Right now, after giving birth, I really understand the power of my body,” she explained. “I just feel my body means something completely different. I feel a lot more confident about it.”

Calling her baby “my homey, my best friend,” she also opened up about wanting to give Blue siblings. “Now I definitely want another, but I don’t know when,” she said. In May 2013, she also told ABC News about her hopes for more children. “I think my daughter needs some company. I definitely love being a big sister,” she told the outlet.

Beyoncé was also named as PEOPLE’s World’s Most Beautiful Woman in 2012 and gushed about how the term “love” was redefined for her after she became a mother. “The best thing about having a daughter is having a true legacy,” she told PEOPLE. “The word ‘love’ means something completely different now. She’s just the cutest thing.”

And though her career has only continued to skyrocket (she could potentially take home nine awards this month at the Grammy Awards) since becoming a mom, Beyoncé continued to assert last year that her greatest achievement is her daughter. “Out of everything I’ve accomplished, my proudest moment, hands-down, was when I gave birth to my daughter Blue,” she told Garage magazine last March. The singer also credited her mom, Tina Knowles-Lawson, for guiding her.

“Everything I know about being a mother comes from the examples she has shown,” she said. “My mother has instilled confidence in my sister and me and taught us to always be grateful.”

In the last few years, the singer has also put a focus on creating art that addresses social issues and empowers her fans — and according to her, that fire and passion came from a desire to give her daughter the best future possible.

“I just want my child to be happy and healthy and have the opportunity to realize her dreams,” she told Elle last year. “Everyone experiences pain, but sometimes you need to be uncomfortable to transform. Pain is not pretty, but I wasn’t able to hold my daughter in my arms until I experienced the pain of childbirth!”

This article originally appeared on People.com