'Confident’ Nicole Scherzinger Says 40s Are Her 'Prime'

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Nicole Scherzinger is only getting better with age.

“I’ve never been more fit, I’ve never been more sound of mind, I’ve never been more confident, I’ve never been more strong,” Scherzinger, 46, exclusively told Us Weekly ahead of her Friday, July 12, performance under New York City’s Brooklyn Bridge. “This is my prime. I’m just getting started.”

The multi-hyphenate performer wants women to “celebrate” getting older as the blessing that it is.

“Forget ageism. It’s about being age-alicious. We got to flip it on its head,” she said prior to a stateside show at Wimbledon’s The Hill in New York event . “It’s a privilege to get older, and to have lived life, and for [aging] to make us better.”

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Scherzinger added that she feels “way more confident in my 40s” than she did in her 20s.

“I wish I wasn’t so hard on myself [back then],” the former Pussycat Doll shared. “I always looked at pictures and was like, ‘Oh, God, I’ve got to … I’m going to look better. I’ve got to lose weight.’ I look back and I’m like, ‘Damn, I wish I looked like that [now].’”

Noting that turning 46 has been “awesome,” Scherzinger shared some of the wisdom she’s gained over the years.

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“You get what you tolerate, so you have to create the relationships that you want to be in, the people that you want to be around,” she said. “You’ve got to surround yourself with great people who celebrate you when you walk into a room, who appreciate you, who lift you up and you can lift them up, and who are also honest with you, who don’t kiss your butt.”

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After more than two decades in the entertainment industry, Scherzinger still gets excited about performing. She told Us that getting a chance to sing under the iconic Brooklyn Bridge felt like a “magical” opportunity.

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“It’s really special, especially with this kicking off my run with Sunset [Boulevard],” she said. “In a few months, this is going to be my new home.”

Scherzinger told Us that she’s “been waiting 46 years to do Broadway,” but also feels like the timing couldn’t be better.

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“I’m such a musical theater kid, and I can’t believe this is the first time I’m doing it, but it was meant to be because Sunset Boulevard — me playing Norma Desmond — this was supposed to be,” she said. “This is what I was meant to debut with.”

With one of her biggest dreams about to become a reality, Scherzinger said that she is “grateful for the fire” that she still has within her. “I feel like I’ve got a couple different projects in me that I was born to create, and that’s what really keeps me going … and really hungry,” she said.

Read more in this week’s new issue of Us Weekly — which includes 12 additional pages, a redesigned look and new franchises readers will love — on newsstands now.

With reporting by Nikaline McCarley