Singer Katy Perry finally opened up about her marriage breakdown, saying she was determined to smile through the pain as her relationship with comedian Russell Brand collapsed.

The 27-year-old married Brand last October after a whirlwind romance, but they announced their split just 14 months later and filed for divorce earlier this year.

“I love being on stage and even though I went through some pretty tough times last year I had to separate that because I know my problems are my problems and they are not the audience’s problems,” contactmusic.com quoted Perry as saying.

“They are here to see a show and to be entertained, so I got on that lift, put a smile on my face and went up [on stage],” she added.