Fantasia Barrino Says ‘Soulmate’ Husband Is the ‘First Person That Ever Called Me Beautiful’ (Exclusive)

The ‘Color Purple’ actress opens up about finding true love with her husband of 8 years, Kendall Taylor

Fantasia Barrino and Kendall Taylor. PHOTO: ROB LATOUR/VARIETY/PENSKE MEDIA VIA GETTY

Fantasia Barrino had a moment of sheer panic earlier this month.

While traveling to promote The Color Purple, producers Oprah Winfrey and Steven Spielberg’s new film adaptation of the Tony-winning Broadway musical, Barrino, 39, says she called home and got quite a scare.

“My husband picked up and it sounded like a bunch of screaming, The first thing I thought was that something [bad] had happened, so I immediately hung up to prepare myself,” she tells PEOPLE in this week’s issue of ringing up her husband of eight years, Kendall Taylor.

“I called back like, ‘Babe, you have to tell me what’s wrong,’ and he’s like ‘Tasia, you just got nominated for a Golden Globe!’ I literally started crying. Like, the ugly cry.”

In the new hit and critically acclaimed film, based on Alice Walker’s 1982 Pulitzer Prize–winning novel, Barrino stars as Celie, a Black woman in the 1920s South who struggles with vicious abuse, racism and low self-esteem before she finds her voice, power and freedom with the help of other women.

Fantasia Barrino and Kendall Taylor.STEVE GRANITZ/WIREIMAGE

“Celie and I have a lot in common when it comes to family situations, losing things and feeling ugly and unseen,” says the R&B singer and mother of three.

But for Barrino, she credits Taylor, a businessman with whom she shares 2-year-old daughter Keziah, with helping her heal some of those old wounds.

“My husband’s been in the trenches with me,” says Barrino. “He came into my life and was the first person that ever called me beautiful and a queen every day, even when I felt like I didn’t look good or my hair was all over my head.”

Fantasia Barrino.UNIQUE NICOLE/GETTY

That’s why his giving her the nomination news was all the more special. “It means a lot to share this moment with him. He’s invested so much into my life and I feel like he’s my soulmate.”

Fantasia Barrino in The Color Purple.WARNER BROS.

When she first saw the film, “my husband went with me and he ended up grabbing my shoulders and whispering in my ear, ‘I’m going to have to catch myself. I’m about to cry.’ ”

Adds Barrino, “My husband and I are both in therapy and there was parts of the film that touched him. This movie is a healer.”

For more on Fantasia Barrino’s life and buzzed-about new role, pick up this week’s issue of PEOPLE.

The Color Purple is in theaters now.