Crystal Bowersox is Single and Happy: "Love Happens When it Happens"

In the last few months Crystal Bowersox's life has done a 180 — she earned the place of American Idol runner-up and split with her boyfriend in the process, but the soul singer says she's happy to be a single mom.

"I'd love to have another kid, but as far as love.... You know, love happens when it happens; it's not something you search for. 'Cause you won't find it when you're looking," she tells Redbook magazine. "And when I think about, do I want to get married someday? It's a strange thing. For me, marriage is about love, not paperwork.

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"I've never been the kid who dreamed of the big white dress, the long veil, the fancy diamond ring. If I ever do get married, I want my husband to be someone who's honest, kind, generous, with a sense of spirituality. I'm not so worried about looks; I'm more attracted to someone's mind than anything else."

Crystal may be available again but she harbors no ill-will towards her Tony, her ex-boyfriend and father of her baby son, who is also called Tony.

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"I really want to clear up some misunderstood stuff about Tony's and my breakup the night of the Idol finale, and let people know how amazing he was through the whole process," she says.

"I feel like he's getting portrayed as this person who up and left me on the biggest day of my life, and that's not the case at all. I mean, he's getting hate mail and horrible messages online. So I want to make clear how amazing, kind, and generous a person he is, and that he truly considers my son his son and little Tony loves him.

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"He's been there since my son was about three months old. And in a lot of ways, he's the perfect man; he really is. But ultimately, we both knew it wasn't going to work out, considering the different lives we were leading.

"And it's better to come to that realization than to have an unhappy relationship. Mommy and Daddy need to be happy in order for baby to be happy."

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She freely admits that appearing on American Idol was the fatal blow. "It was hard during Idol because there were times when I didn't even get to see Tony awake.

"Toward the end of the show, big Tony and little Tony were living with me. I'd wake up early to leave for rehearsals, and my son would be sleeping. Then sometimes I wouldn't get home until 10 to 15 hours later, and he'd already be in bed.

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"It was hard, and I did go talk to Ryan Seacrest at one point because he works 24/7 and I knew he would understand. He gave me the best advice.

"He said the best thing I could ever do was work hard enough now so I could take care of my family. And it's true. Sometimes you have to work really hard and make sacrifices so you can provide for the people you love."

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With her earnings from her newfound success Crystal has put the money to good use. "The only thing I have splurged on is my son's college fund. He has a college fund, and that makes me happy. I love to say that: 'My son has a college fund.' I never had one. My parents couldn't do that for me. So I love that I'm now able to give that to Tony."