Sam Smith Spills on His Relationship With Brandon Flynn: 'I Deserve To Be Happy'

Sam Smith dons a crown for a photo from his spread in V Magazine‘s issue 111, on newsstands January 11th.

The 25-year-old entertainer opened up about body image, taking a break from the spotlight and his new relationship. Check it:

On going home and taking a break from the industry: “After the success of the first record, and especially after the Oscars and everything, I felt like my job and life weren’t relatable to my family and friends, and that really scared me. It was important for me to prove to myself that I could get back to normal, and then, I could write music from a real place again.”

On his relationship with Brandon Flynn: “I’m in a relationship right now and for the first time, I think I deserve to be happy. I’m actually asking myself if I’m going to be writing some happy love songs soon.”

On his weight loss and body image: “When I was shooting my first music videos, I just wasn’t happy with the way I looked, so I was trying to control the way the camera moved. I got a bit obsessive. I was constantly looking in the mirror, pinching my waist, weighing myself every day. Now, I’ve gotten to a place where I really love my stretch marks and I just enjoy my body…But my body image is always going to be an issue. I need to constantly train myself to watch the right sort of films, to not look at certain ads and think that’s how my stomach should look. It’s something that I’m fighting every day. I think men should talk about it more.”

On his hopes for the future: “I hope I fall into a deep, beautiful relationship where I allow someone to love me back as much as I love them. I hope my family and friends get happier and stay healthy. I want to fall in love with music more – I’ll never, ever stop learning about and studying my voice.”

For more from Sam Smith, visit VMagazine.com.