How Katharine McPhee Has Moved on from Divorce and ‘American Idol'

Actress and singer Katharine McPhee is gracing the cover of Ocean Drive magazine's September issue, where she opened up about life after “American Idol” and moving on following her divorce from Nick Cokas.

McPhee rose to fame after becoming the runner-up on the fifth season of “American Idol,” losing to Taylor Hicks. She reflected, “I love competition, but I always had this sense that that is not really life. I definitely remember being disappointed, but it didn't hurt my confidence. Those experiences strengthen your vision for yourself, and also that adrenaline that you get, you want more of it. You want more of the high from performing in front of audiences.”

Katharine was persuaded to try out for the show by manager Nick Cokas, who she would go on to marry in 2008. The marriage lasted until she filed for divorce in 2014. Earlier this year, their divorce was finalized. She said, "I feel pretty grounded. I got married really young, and then divorced, and in the last couple of years, I felt like, 'Wow, this is what I should have been doing when I was 20 instead of planning a wedding.' But I don't have any regrets. All of the choices I made I learned from in a really deep way. I have always been fortunate to have strong influences in my life who have forced me to look at my own choices and my own failures. I think we are all on that journey to have more awareness about who we are as a person and to grow and learn.”

The 32-year-old also shared her thoughts on plastic surgery. She commented, "I don't really have a problem with it, but I feel like the reason people don't want to talk about it is because there is this stigma on whether or not it is actually good work. I don't have super long legs, so if I could ever trade up, I'd add an extra half an inch to my legs. You look at all the work people have done in Hollywood; even when they look amazing, everyone wants to say, 'Well, it looks amazing, but it's fake.' There is always this angle of trying to take people down. I'm not going to run out and get a face-lift anytime soon, but I don't know how I'm going to feel 20 years from now.”

She added, "I do believe in aging. I think that there is nothing more unattractive than someone who just refuses to age. At some point you have to allow yourself to age a little bit. But I can't say that I won't want to look as good as I possibly can in any stage of my life.”