More than three years after they tied the knot, Justin Bieber is taking time to reflect on his marriage to his wife, Hailey Baldwin Bieber. The two-time Grammy winner touched on his relationship in a candid interview this week with Apple Music’s Ebro Darden, noting that married life had been “a journey” thus far.

“I remember when I first got married, I hit a little bit of an emotional breakdown because I thought marriage was going to fix all my problems, and it didn’t,” Justin said. “It just kind of was a reflection of like, man, you’re a bit of a hypocrite, man.”

“You want your wife to do something that you’re not doing,” he continued. “It’s hard sometimes to look in the mirror and really have to realize, man, maybe you’re not the person that you necessarily thought that you were. That’s just a result of trauma and life circumstances.”

The Biebers were married at a New York courthouse in September 2018. The couple held a more formal, traditional affair in South Carolina attended by friends and family members about a year later.

Still, both have faced a fair share of very public challenges. In his 2020 documentary “Justin Bieber: Next Chapter,” the pop superstar spoke at length about his mental health, noting he has experienced suicidal thoughts in the past.

Earlier this year, Hailey was hospitalized and treated for a transient ischemic attack, which can have symptoms similar to a stroke. She also reportedly underwent surgery for a patent foramen ovale, a prenatal hole between heart chambers that failed to close after birth.

The model recounted the events leading up to her hospitalization in a YouTube clip called “Telling My Story.” She said she and her husband Justin Bieber were out having breakfast when she “suddenly I felt this weird sensation that kind of like traveled down my arm from my shoulder all the way down to my fingertips.” Through it all, Justin says he’s been able to rely on his Christian faith.

“Life smacks you in the face, and it can be hard to get back up,” he explained. “But when you can have a perspective that God is not an angry dude, he is a loving, considerate, compassionate God who knows what we’re going through and just wants us to be the best versions of ourselves. And so that, for me, in that perspective has really changed everything.”

The singer also revealed during the interview that he’s “almost done” working on a new album that will feature a “wicked guitar solo” by John Mayer. “He’s someone who I’ve looked up to for a long time,” he said. “I was working on this song, and he came in, and he’s like: ‘Can I go in the booth?’ And I was like: ‘Yeah, bro, go in.’”

“It was just like, it was mind-blowing to see him actually operate in his gift like that, being able to like see it first-hand, because like he is on another level,” he added. “It’s insane.” The Biebers’ story is a testament that God will carry you through whatever your problems are, no matter how big or small.