Amerie x Complex

The beautiful Amerie was featured in Complex's October/November issue. With the release of her fourth album, In Love & War which was released on Tuesday, the sultry R&B diva dishes on cheating and wanting space.

Men say: If I’ve only been seeing a woman for a month, I’m not expected to be exclusive.

Amerie says: Unless it’s been explicitly stated that you two are exclusive, it’s best to assume you’re not. Women date men—as in going out on “dates”—and feel awkward if they run into him on a date with someone else. Trust me, if a man doesn’t say so, he’s not exclusive and probably sleeping with someone else.

Men say: Cheating is only an issue if you get caught.Amerie says: One of the consequences of cheating is that you only trust somebody as much as you trust yourself. Even the whole line of “wanting space”—they’ve probably already cheated at least once. It’s thinking, “I don’t want to risk losing this person, so instead of being honest, I’ll put them on the side while I get all this stuff out my system.”

Men say: Women settle more easily than men.

Amerie says: Men rarely settle; they won’t wife up someone they don’t feel is worthy of them. A woman can persistently chase a man, and he may sleep with her, but it’ll never make him love her. Yet a guy that a woman’s not interested in can hound her, and if he’s persistent enough, he’ll wear her down. Women are more malleable. Yet, we’re still the smarter sex. Men can’t handle the truth about women—that we can be as noncommittal, manipulative, and promiscuous as they are.