"Growing up, I wasn’t always Monica, the artist, you know? So when [I] speak about the trenches, if you’ve ever been or ever lived there, then you still know what that is. You don’t forget. That’s what keeps you motivated to keep working."

“After divorce, it’s one day at a time,” she said in a 2019 interview. “You don’t know what you’re going to feel day by day. You have to wake up and just flat out see what that’s gone be, see how you gone feel. And a big part of it is also, for me, respect is key. I try to always keep the respect intact."

“Being genuine is important. Being loving to other people is important. Knowing that serving only yourself would be a mistake in this lifetime. You have to serve others.”

“We're being normal. We're talking about what life is like to have teenage kids. We're talking about what it's like to be working on records and what it's like to be adjusting to the changes in music. We’re just talking about the difference between then and now, and what it's like really creating records, because no one knows what those times were like as much as she and I do. So, I'm glad that that awkwardness is gone.”

"I understand there will be some things I sacrifice work-wise because of it, but I can’t get the years back once the kids are grown and gone. That may mean I’m not on every scene, but that’s OK. I’m looking at quality over quantity."

"I have good, genuine people for the most part in my family, so coming up with aunts and uncles that taught me and were genuine towards me kept me grounded. No matter what was happening, good or bad, they really were there for me. That’s something I always share with people because I notice a lot of artists, they don’t have that. They may have entourages, but they don’t have family — real family that treats them with love and respect. My family was like that about me."

"My deal [with RCA] came to an end, but throughout the process of being on a label, you learn a lot about them, and it becomes a lot easier for you to step into that type of arena and feel comfortable. It’s a very expensive thing to do but it’s extremely rewarding, because I know what’s happening in every area.”

“Most people wouldn’t expect that a young girl from Georgia that’s an R&B singer would be obsessed with Dolly Parton. … But I remember hearing ‘Jolene’ when I was a little girl and then having my mom get it, and I listened to it over and over and over.”

“I love being with one person,” Monica told ESSENCE this year. “I love getting to know the depths of who a person is and enjoying spending time. I don’t think I would make a good dater.”

"All of my experiences are a part of the woman you see," she told BUSTLE in 2021. "I was always a very outspoken young girl. I was an outspoken young adult. I was very transparent and I didn’t want to lose that in the process of working to become successful. That was a battle in itself, then real life happens."