Singer Christina Milian was married to music producer The Dream all of 10 months and had a 5 month-old daughter with him back when he was photographed ass grabbing his female assistant this July. The two then announced their separation, with Dream’s rep claiming they split up in late 2009.Divorce papers filed in February tend to support that, but whatever happened it looked like Milian was the wronged party. The Dream later issued a self-pitying statement in which he said that he and Christina were having problems or something and he was only human. He didn’t deny cheating or say that they were split up at the time.

Judging from Christina’s latest interview, she was just as surprised by the photos as everyone else.

29-year-old singer/actress Christina Milian sat down to talk to us exclusively about the cheating scandal that ended her marriage to The-Dream (aka Terius Nash), and how she made it through “hell and back” to relish her new life as a single mom.

On her failed marriage: “No matter what, you can’t change who you are. I know that now. I tried to be someone I wasn’t because I wanted my marriage to work. But ultimately, if it’s not working, it’s not working.”

On the cheating scandal: “I didn’t know anything. But looking back, my gut was telling me something was off. But I thought I could fix it.”

On lessons learned: “I learned a lot about myself this year. I learned what I can handle. I learned how much I can take. I learned who I am and what I will accept for myself and my daughter.”

On becoming a mom: “Being a new mother definitely makes me feel so much sexier than ever before. There’s a certain responsibility that I carry being a mom that makes me feel very confident and so blessed. Being a mom is the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”

On what’s next: “I feel brand new. I’ve been to hell and back, but I survived. I’m stronger for it and now I’m ready for the next phase of my life.”

To read the whole story, pick up the February 2011 issue of Latina magazine, on newsstands January 11th!

[From Latina via Huffington Post]

You see a lot of photos of Christina out with her adorable daughter, Violet, and she looks like such a loving mom. It had to hurt so much to see those photos of her husband with his personal assistant, but at least her suspicions were confirmed. If the guy wasn’t so thoroughly busted he surely would have lied to her about it, continued to treat her like sh*t and then justify his behavior because they were having “problems.” Now she can move on with her life and hopefully make better choices in men.

Christina Milian is shown on New Year’s Eve and on 12/4/10. She’s shown with Violet and with her mom. Credit: WENN.com. Other photo is of Christina and The Dream in July, 2009. Credit: Getty