Christina Aguilera is close to her mother, Shelly Loraine Kearns. They do, however, share a tragic history through Christina’s father.
Shelly had to deal with Christina’s father’s abuse.
Shelly Loraine Kearns is Christina Aguilera’s mother, and while she prefers to keep out of the spotlight, she has always been by her daughter’s side. Below, we’ve broken down all you need to know about the singer’s mother and their strong relationship.
Christina has learned to be a warrior and credits her mother for this. The vocalist of “Genie in a Bottle” was raised on Staten Island, New York, as the eldest of two daughters to Shelly and Fausto Xavier Aguilera, a US Army soldier.
Unfortunately for Shelly and the family, Fausto was physically and emotionally violent, leading a young Christina to seek refuge in music. The singer addressed her abusive past in her music, with the song “Oh Mother” appearing on her 2006 album Back to Basics.
The “Candyman” singer highlighted how her mother’s strength benefited her throughout her life in a 2018 Paper magazine interview. “I saw my mother having to be subservient and mind her Ps and Qs, or she’ll get beaten up,” she told the site.
“You can either be so damaged by it that you take a turn for the worst, or you can feel empowered by it and choose not to go down that path.”
Shelly eventually left Fausto when Christina was six years old, and she moved herself and her kids to their grandmother’s house in Rochester, a Pittsburgh suburb. She later married Jim Kearns and had a kid named Michael with him.
Christina and Shelly have both grown as a result of their experiences. Even though Shelly and Christina’s siblings went through terrible times in the Aguilera household, Christina learned a lot from the experience while supporting her mother.
“I decided very young that I would never put myself in a situation where I felt helpless to a man and that I would be able to make money for myself and my future children so they wouldn’t have to suffer at the hands of abuse,” Christina said.
“Today, I’m a mother of a 7-year-old son and a 1-year-old daughter, and it’s essential to me to provide them with an environment to feel comfortable and loved. I want to give my children the gift of appreciating music without using it to escape as I did.”
Christina eventually turned her escape into a highly successful profession. Throughout the discussion, she underlined the necessity of finding a creative outlet for every mother.
“As much as we all love our children, we all have distinct identities, and it’s vital to have a release just for yourself,” she noted. “We give so much of ourselves; it’s necessary to make time to find creative or pampering release.”
Christina has always had her back. Christina’s star has risen dramatically since her Mouseketeer days, and Shelly has always been by her daughter’s side through thick and thin.
Shelly was there to see her daughter receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2010, in addition to constantly being at Christina’s side through her different transformations and sexual revolutions.
Christina stated that watching her mother struggle taught her that she didn’t have to let people dictate her life — a lesson that came in handy when she faced backlash after releasing the very sexual “Dirrty.”
“It was an exciting and contentious period for me,” she remarked.
“Either women aren’t sexual enough, or we’re not fulfilling enough of your fantasies, but if we’re blatantly sexual or feeling empowered in some way, we’re chastised for it.” Fortunately for Christina, her mother’s experience and how she reared her daughter shaped her into the woman she is today.
