Taraji P. Henson on single motherhood: 'We try to do our best'

LOS ANGELES, Sept. 8 (UPI) -- Taraji P. Henson is opening up about the struggles of being a single mother.

The 45-year-old actress admitted in the Oct. issue of Redbook that being a single mom to her 22-year-old son, Marcell Johnson, hasn't been easy.

"I think we try to do our best," the Empire star said. "And yes, we can do it all, but I wouldn't wish being a single parent on my worst enemy. It is not easy."

Henson shares Marcell with her late high school sweetheart, William Lamar Johnson, who was killed in 2003. The couple weren't together at the time of his death, and the actress has dated since but never married.

"If I was going to get married, it had to be for love, because I wanted Marcell to see that real kind of love -- the kind I yearn for. That old couple crooked and bent over but still holding hands. I know that kind of love exists and I'm not going to stop until I have that," she said.

Henson was last linked to NFL free agent Kelvin Hayden and previously dated Common and Hill Harper. She told Entertainment Tonight in 2015 she is looking for a man who isn't preoccupied with her glamorous career.

"I want a man who is not caught up into what I do for a living," the actress revealed. "I'm not that girl on the screen. I am none of those characters. I am me."

"I need safety, somewhere to go where I don't have to be Hollywood," she elaborated. "Where I can take my wig off and you're gonna love me and say, 'Baby, you are beautiful.' I need a hero!"

Henson plays Cookie Lyon on Empire, which will return for a third season Sept. 21 on Fox. She will also launch a makeup collection with M.A.C. Cosmetics this month.