Actress Gabrielle Union is the cover girl for Women’s Health magazine’s latest issue.

The 46-year-old movie star talks about her fitness routines, her surrogacy journey, as well as how she has been able to stay on top of her game for decades.

Read excerpts below.

On her fertility problems: “There’s nothing more that I wanted than to cook my own baby…the idea of it felt like surrendering to failure.”

On maintaining an active lifestyle: “I need sun. I need Vitamin D on my face. Give me a trail, a park, a walk down the street with the dogs, a breeze, rain. I’ll go hike. I’ll get a lawn chair and sit outside my trailer so I’m not trapped inside.”

On choosing a surrogate for her daughter: “Some people care about the race, religion, or food habits of their surrogate. I was like, ‘I want a reader.’”

On how it was tough to overcome the public opinions: “People want to see the bump, hear that you got hemorrhoids—they want to know you’re like them. I was like, ‘This is going to seem like the most Hollywood sh*t ever. Will I be embraced as a mom?’ It’s terrifying.”

On the birth of her daughter: “I was like, ‘Oh my god, this is my baby. I wanted to fight everybody in that room for various reasons and no reason.”