Beyoncé Tells All! Her Health Crisis Before the Twins, Losing the Pregnancy Weight, and More

The singer stuns in the spread by 23-year-old Tyler Mitchell, who just made history as the first African American photographer to shoot a Vogue cover.

In the personal essay, Bey reveals bombshell after bombshell in her first interview since welcoming twins Rumi and Sir.

Beyoncé details her health crisis in the final weeks of her latest pregnancy, saying she had to undergo an emergency C-section.

She explained, “I was swollen from toxemia and had been on bed rest for over a month. My health and my babies' health were in danger, so I had an emergency C-section. We spent many weeks in the NICU.”

Bey later added, “After the C-section, my core felt different. It had been major surgery… I needed time to heal, to recover. During my recovery, I gave myself self-love and self-care, and I embraced being curvier. I accepted what my body wanted to be.”

The Grammy winner said she was 218 lbs. the day she gave birth to Rumi and Sir, and that she wasn't in a hurry to lose the pregnancy weight like she was after giving birth to Blue Ivy.

Of her snapback after Blue, she said, “I put pressure on myself to lose all the baby weight in three months, and scheduled a small tour to assure I would do it. Looking back, that was crazy.”

This time around, she is taking it slower, “After six months, I started preparing for Coachella. I became vegan temporarily, gave up coffee, alcohol, and all fruit drinks. But I was patient with myself and enjoyed my fuller curves. My kids and husband did, too.”

The 36-year-old recognizes her body has changed, and she is okay with that. “To this day my arms, shoulders, breasts, and thighs are fuller. I have a little mommy pouch, and I'm in no rush to get rid of it. I think it's real. Whenever I'm ready to get a six-pack, I will go into beast zone and work my ass off until I have it.”

The essay also touched on past betrayals and what she has learned about her ancestry.

She hinted at trouble in the past, saying, “I've been through hell and back, and I'm grateful for every scar. I have experienced betrayals and heartbreaks in many forms. I have had disappointments in business partnerships as well as personal ones, and they all left me feeling neglected, lost, and vulnerable. Through it all I have learned to laugh and cry and grow.”

Of her ancestry, Bey revealed a recent revelation! “I researched my ancestry recently and learned that I come from a slave owner who fell in love with and married a slave," she said. "I had to process that revelation over time. I questioned what it meant and tried to put it into perspective.”

She continued, “I now believe it's why God blessed me with my twins. Male and female energy was able to coexist and grow in my blood for the first time. I pray that I am able to break the generational curses in my family and that my children will have less complicated lives.”