John Mayer Talks Wanting A 'Wife And Kids' & Framing Britney Spears

John Mayer is one of our most famous bachelors, but he doesn’t want to stay that way forever.

The artist is known for his high profile relationships with the likes of Jessica Simpson, Jennifer Aniston, and Katy Perry (and, infamously, Taylor Swift). He’s also been known for outrageous behavior — or, in his own words, being a “d*****bag.” But in recent years, he seems to have mellowed out some, and apparently, he’s starting to think about settling down.

During a two-hour interview with his pal Andy Cohen for his SiriusXM radio show, the New Light singer was asked by a fan what’s left on his bucket list. He responded:

“Great question. … [There’s] one thing left and that’s wife and kids. Wife and kids. That would be, that would complete all of it. And I thought about this as recently as last night. ‘Cause my brothers are both married and have children.”

As for when he thinks he’ll get around to having a family, the 43-year-old shared:

“I think if I work backwards, it’s 50. 48, 50, but I have, so I don’t feel late to the party because I know only now is my tummy sore from all the frosting I’ve eaten off the cake of life. You just have to be done playing with your toy of ‘me and my life and my thing.’ I’ve come to a point in my life where with this stuff, I’m not fatigued completely, but my hands are on my knees a little bit and I’m going okay. I definitely explored the life of what can be done for me, by me. So I don’t feel late because I would never want to have a wife and kids while I was still investigating what’s out there for me to be explored by me.”

Whew. There’s a few metaphors in there, but to translate: it sounds like he’s happy he got to sow his wild oats before becoming a dad. Fair enough!

It wasn’t only his own personal life the musician commented on. He also mentioned watching the controversial New York Times/FX documentary Framing Britney Spears. He told Andy:

“I’m going to give you a thought on the Britney [Spears] doc. Obviously there’s a lot to parse on a sociological level. I almost cried five times during that. Yeah, no, there’s a debate as to whether the times in and of themselves kind of encased this behavior. … But, to see the sadness in this human being … I mean, I was on the edge of tears five times, because if you understand what this business, slash industry, slash lifestyle does to a person. To go through this and come out the other side okay, is to have infinite grace for those who struggle with it.”

John continued:

“I came out okay. … I have a very strong feeling that part of that is because I’m a man. And I have a very strong feeling that a lot of these things that happen to female performers is endemic to being female. Why do so many men emerge going ‘Learned my lesson. Yes I was, yes I got dinked in the head, but I’m back baby.'”

That’s certainly true for John Mayer. Despite his many controversies, he somehow managed to emerge with a decent reputation, not unlike Brit’s ex Justin Timberlake, who remained a golden boy while women like Britney and Janet Jackson suffered much greater consequences.

He went on:

“So I watched it with such grace for someone who got much more maligned by the inhuman experiment of fame than I did. And I go, ‘Why did I get through that? Why did I find my way through that obstacle course? What was afforded to me stylistically.’ The stylistic difference of being an outlaw. If you’re a man you’re an outlaw. If you’re a woman you’re kind of crazy. And when I watched that through that lens, my heart just ached the whole time.”

It is definitely a compelling discussion, and through reflection, John may want to consider how his own words and actions contributed to the way female pop stars are treated. Like, calling his ex Jessica “sexual napalm” was less than respectful, but it’s also the kind of comment that furthers the idea of women as objects and sex symbols while their male counterparts get to be serious artists. If John wants to be a dad someday, it’s worth reflecting on how he himself helped shape the kind of culture his kids will grow up in. Food for thought!

Ch-ch-check out some more of his conversation on Radio Andy (below):