Halle Berry.Photo: Cliff Watts for Women’s Health

Halle Berryis opening up about how her relationship with boyfriendVan Huntinfluences her role as a mother.
In the cover story for the December issue ofWomen’s Health, the 55-year-old actress says her relationship with Hunt, whom she’s been dating since last fall, has made her a “much better mother” to her two children,Nahla Ariela, 13, and sonMaceo Robert, 8.
“I just feel fulfilled. I feel happy in my life romantically, as a mother, as an artist,” she says of her life with Hunt. “I’m a much better mother in this circumstance than I would have been had I stayed in a romantic relationship that didn’t serve me and didn’t make me feel the way I need to feel as a woman.”
“I’m reminded that we always have to take care of ourselves first, because I can’t be a good mother for my children if I’m not fundamentally happy and feeling good about myself,” she adds.
TheBruiseddirector shares Maceo with ex-husband Olivier Martinez, whom she split from in 2015, and daughter Nahla with ex Gabriel Aubry.
Subscribe to our new 12-episode weekly podcast,Me Becoming Mom,to hear celebrity moms open up exclusively to PEOPLE about their extraordinary roads to motherhood.
Amy Sussman/Getty

As a mom, Berry says she tries to teach her kids to stand up for themselves and be their own person.
“Use your voice. You have a right to be heard. You are loved and accepted just as you are. Onlyyoudefine who you are,” Berry says she tells her daughter. “I’m trying to teach them to march to the beat of their own drum. Be true to themselves, and not be followers, but be leaders and innovators.”
Berry has previouslydiscussed her relationship with Hunt, sharing at last month’sElleWomen in Hollywood Awards, “I’ve never had a man that has lifted me up and let me be all that I am.”
Halle Berry.Cliff Watts for Women’s Health

“I had a lot of support … [Hunt] was a big part of that,” Berry told PEOPLE. “He did some music for the movie. He actually wrote the title song.”
RELATED VIDEO: Halle Berry Says That Her Directorial Debut Was the ‘Hardest Thing I’ve Ever Done’
Hunt is a professional musician who released his debut album in 2004. Since then, he’s won a Grammy Award and released four additional albums.
source: people.com