R&B songstress Alicia Keys thinks life is far more "beautiful" when you make time for dinner dates.

The self-confessed workaholic married hip-hop producer Swizz Beatz in July 2010, with the pair welcoming son Egypt in October of the same year.

Keys credits her husband for completely changing her outlook on life.

She gushed: “I feel so much more happy. People are like, ‘You look amazing, you’re glowing,’ and I’m like, ‘YES, because I’m LIVING and I’ve gone out for DINNER.’ That’s beautiful.”

She added: “Me and my husband are exactly the same. I love him so much. I fall in love with him more when I realise just how alike we are."

Keys was aware she had to change her work-life balance, but wasn't entirely sure how to go about it at first.

The 31-year-old New Yorker told Stylist magazine: “I was focused. But I’m also one of the greatest pretenders you’ll ever meet. That’s [a skill] I know very well; all too well. But I’m actually learning to undo that. It’s not healthy.”

She added: “I used to do things because it’s not [anyone else’s] fault I’m stressed or sad. And it’s true, it’s not. You shouldn’t be like, ‘I feel like f*cking sh*t, don’t bother me.’ That’s not right. And that’s professionalism. But I had gone so long hiding behind that mask that finally when it started to break down I was like, ‘What’s going on?’”