Lenny Kravitz opens up about celibacy, not being in a relationship: 'A spiritual thing'

It takes a lot of discipline to be Lenny Kravitz.

In a recent interview with The Guardian to promote his new album, the rocker – who just celebrated his milestone 60th birthday – reflected on the self-control his lifestyle requires. He revealed to journalist Simon Hattenstone that he's been in a serious relationship for nine years and remains celibate until he finds the right person.

"It’s a spiritual thing," he said. Being in a relationship at this point in his life might be a struggle, he added, as "I have become very set in my ways, in the way I live."

He wasn't always like this, though. The "American Woman" singer admitted he "became more like" his father Sy Kravitz – who had been unfaithful to his mother, "The Jeffersons" star Roxie Roker – "after the marriage."

"I was becoming a player," he said. "I didn’t like it. I didn’t want to be that guy. So I had to tackle that and it took years."

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Kravitz, who was married to Lisa Bonet between 1987 and 1993, is father to actress Zoë Kravitz.

He recently told "CBS Mornings" that he's "open" to romance.

"I find that when you don't look is when you find it," he told Gayle King. "And I'm at a place where I've said this for several years: 'I'm ready, I'm ready, I'm ready.' I wasn't ready. I thought I was ready, right?"

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Lenny Kravitz details his health regimen at 60 years old

These days, Kravitz is busy maintaining a strict health regimen that requires "a lot of hard work and discipline."

"That means when I want to eat junk, I don’t do it,” he told The Guardian.

Sometimes, this also means getting in your first workout of the day past midnight "because it’s part of my discipline – it’s about body, mind and spirit. I want all of those three elements aligned. If my body’s in shape and my spirit and mind are not, then it’s just something nice to look at or to boast about."

Nevertheless, Kravitz insisted he doesn’t have a big head about his famously good – and youthful – looks.

He said: "I have grown to accept myself and be comfortable with myself, but I have never been one to look in a mirror and go: 'Ooh yeah, look at that! You’re so beautiful.'"

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The rocker, who made headlines for his unusual practice of exercising in leather pants and continues to turn heads with his age-defying physique, credits a combination of good genes – his grandfather, Albert Roker, was riding a bike five hours a day well into his 80s – and simple dedication.

"I work out five or six days a week," Kravitz told USA TODAY earlier this year. "I'm very serious about my training, about what I put in my body."

He continued, "If you asked me 'When were you in the best shape of your life?' it’s today, right now. Mentally, physically and spiritually, I’ve never been better. That’s all I can tell you.

"I’ve never felt more vibrant, and youthful. I’m not saying that in an egotistical way. All of us have the possibility to have that if we have the basic blessing of health, and we should go for it."

After a six-year gap since his last album, "Raise Vibration," Kravitz dropped "Blue Electric Light" on May 24. He will perform a string of Las Vegas shows at Park MGM this October to promote his new record.

Contributing: Melissa Ruggieri