The EGOT winner said he was initially “hesitant” to open up about such a painful time.

John Legend stopped by BBC’s Desert Island Discs on Sunday (Aug. 7) and opened up about wife Chrissy Teigen’s devastating pregnancy loss with their baby Jack.

“It was difficult,” he told host Lauren Laverne of the couple’s decision to share such a painful experience with the world. “And I was hesitant to share it, but I think Chrissy was really right in encouraging us to share it because I think it really was powerful for a lot of people.

“And way more people than anybody realizes go through this,” the EGOT winner continued. “And I think they feel alone a lot of times; they told us they felt alone a lot of times. And us sharing our experience helped people feel less alone and feel like there were other people going through it, and that there was a community of people going through it. I think it was a really powerful, wise decision by Chrissy to share it because it helped a lot of people.”

Legend also shared how many of the songs on his upcoming self-titled album, Legend, are about “coping with loss and grief and when you feel broken.” While that studio set will arrive Sept. 9, he and Teigen also shared the happy news earlier this month that they’re expecting their rainbow baby.

In between reflecting on his early, pre-fame career as a management consultant in New York City (“it was very sexy work”) and how spoken-word artist J. Ivy first christened him with his stage name, Legend dished during the radio show on the eight songs he would bring with him to a deserted island, including Nina Simone’s cover of “Here Comes the Sun,” Pete Rock and CL Smooth’s “They Reminisce Over You (T.R.O.Y.),” Jay-Z’s “Roc Boys (And The Winner Is)…” and Aretha Franklin’s “Daydreaming.”