Sheryl Crow admits she "lost faith in humankind" after the press hounded her during her cancer scare and public break-up with Lance Armstrong.
The 55-year-old singer says she was overwhelmed by the media attention during the dark period in her life, which coincided with her split from the sportsman.
Crow, who was diagnosed with a form of breast cancer in 2006, says she couldn't get her head around how intimidating the press became.
''About 11 years ago I had a really big, public break-up and a breast cancer diagnosis all in the same week and that was really hard.
''I went from being, you know, a well-known person to becoming an A-lister. Paparazzi hanging outside my door," she told Entertainment Tonight.
"I couldn't move without people wanting to get a picture of what I looked like in my lowest moments and it really started to affect me."
''It made me lose faith in humankind that anybody would want to see a picture of someone at their lowest.''
In a bid to retain some privacy Crow moved to Tennessee - a decision which she doesn't regret.
''It was really a great thing, and a good decision, but that was a hard moment.
''The thing that got me through it was actually just learning how to be in it, to experience it and not distract myself by being busy, which is what we do.
"I didn't make a record, I didn't go to recording, I didn't sit down and write songs, I just thought, 'You know what? I'm just going to be in it until I'm not in it anymore.' And then one day I woke up and it was over.''
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Since her diagnosis, the If It Makes You Happy singer has adopted two sons - 10-year-old Wyatt and seven-year-old Levi, and admits her kids are very opinionated when it comes to her love life.
"I'm attracted to people that are funny and people that are curious and people that are constantly [growing].
"Having two kids, it creates a strong weed-out process. You know pretty quickly if this is somebody that you're going to want to be around your kids.''
Crow is currently promoting her tenth studio album Be Myself.
