Celebrity Celebrity Relationships Celebrity Married Life How John Legend Is Taking on 'Toxic Masculinity' and Becoming a Better Husband and Father The musician opens up about his teenage years, confronting toxic masculinity and how with Chrissy Teigen, he's grown as a husband and father By Janine Rubenstein Janine Rubenstein Janine Rubenstein is Editor-at-Large at PEOPLE and host of PEOPLE Every Day podcast, a daily dose of breaking news, pop culture and heartwarming human interest stories. Formerly Senior Editor of music content, she's also covered crime, human interest and television news throughout her many years with the brand. Prior to PEOPLE she's written for Essence, The Cape Times newspaper and Los Angeles Magazine among others. On-screen Rubenstein can be found featured on shows like Good Morning America and Entertainment Tonight and she routinely hosts PEOPLE and Entertainment Weekly's star-studded Red Carpet Live specials. Follow the San Francisco native, Black Barbie collector and proud mom of two on Instagram and Twitter @janinerube People Editorial Guidelines Published on September 6, 2017 02:45PM EDT Few stars inspire #husbandgoals like John Legend. From the platinum-selling sweet ballads he sings as odes to wife Chrissy Teigen, to the countless adorable selfies of him doting on their 16-month-old daughter Luna Simone, fans agree he’s the quintessential catch. It’s no wonder Axe tapped him as the face of their new Find Your Magic Initiative and Senior Orientation program, which aims to teach and promote inclusive masculinity amongst high schoolers. Legend, 38, who’ll soon be mentoring teens back in his home state of Ohio, tells PEOPLE in this week’s issue that the topic strikes a chord with him. “In high school, I was two years younger than everybody in my class so not only was I not athletic but I was short and just this little 12-year-old showing up at high school, hadn’t gone through puberty yet,” he says. “I was super shy.” For more on John Legend pick up this week’s issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands Friday. Classmates.com The star says talent was his saving grace. “Expressing myself musically was the way I started connecting with people. It made me more confident. I knew I could get up on stage and just move people.” Despite the awkward phase, Legend was still a ladies’ man, of sorts. “I was a church boy, good grades, student body president … moms liked me more than their daughters!” When it comes to toxic masculinity (often described as problematic norms of behavior encouraged upon men such as aggression, hypersexuality or suppressed emotional output) Legend says it’s something he’s had to confront. “I’ve dealt with it, particularly because I collaborate with a lot of hip hop artists and I think hip hop is such a masculine, homosocial environment. In the studios, it’s usually all men, on tour, it’s all men. I think because of that, it’s an environment where toxic masculinity can flourish.” For more from Legend, pick up the latest issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands Friday. Madonna and her family on the Sept. 18, 2017 issue of PEOPLE. But thanks in part to pal JAY-Z, Legend says that’s changing. “With Jay on his last album [4:44], with him confronting the things that were going on in his relationship and talking about therapy and really being introspective…all of us feel emotions, pain and hurt. I think it’s healthy that we acknowledge some of that.” For his part, Legend has been open about supporting his wife Teigen, 31, through her postpartum depression and her recent decision to cut back on drinking. “[Marriage] helps you develop more empathy. Part of being a good husband and father is being able to listen, be humble and compromise. It’s not about dominance and power,” he says, adding, “You learn as you get older, the best relationships are about give and take.”