Talk about bad timing: While Fergie battles accusations that her nine-month marriage to Transformers star Josh Duhamel is on the skids thanks to a roll in the hay with a pole pro, an interview with the December issue of Cosmopolitan Magazine gives a glimpse into a happy union between the stars.

“At that stage of my life, I don’t think I would have thought that about anybody,” she said of meeting her future husband on the set of his show, Las Vegas. “I’d made my list of qualities that I wanted, and you can’t just find out if somebody has those in a week. You have to see somebody’s character. It was learning what he was made of that made me fall in love with him.”

Fergie added that Josh loves the 17 pounds she gained to play the role of Saraghina in the movie musical Nine.

“When I came home from filming, he was excited. He enjoys having both: the extra meat to grab when it’s there and the tight stomach when that’s there. He always gives me compliments. He’s never been critical.”