We never would have taken Madonna for the high school geek type, but the pop legend readily admits she was far from head cheerleader during those awkward teen years.

“I was a geek in high school. I didn’t really have a drink until I got divorced for the first time [from Sean Penn] when I was 30,” the Queen of Pop reveals in a cover story for the new issue of Rolling Stone. “‘Geek’ is not a word anyone uses to describe me, except perhaps [‘Confessions on a Dance Floor’ producer] Stuart Price, who once said, ‘You know, you’re a nerd at heart, nobody knows it.’ I took it as a compliment.”

Madonna On Her Divorce From British Filmmaker Guy Ritchie: “What can you say? It was a challenging year. I think work saved me, and I’m very grateful that I had work to do. I may have thrown myself off a building,” she told the mag. “Life is an adjustment. It’s different. My sons aren’t with me right now, they’re with their father, and I’m not very comfortable with the idea of my children not living together. There are pros and cons, but I feel good now.”

Madonna On Lady Gaga: “I can see myself in Lady Gaga. In the early part of my career, for sure,” the “Borderline” star explains. “When I saw her, she didn’t have a lot of money for her production, she’s got holes in her fishnets, and there’s mistakes everywhere. It was kind of a mess, but I can see that she’s got that It factor. It’s nice to see that at a raw stage.”

Madonna was impressed with Gaga’s live performance, as did Madonna’s oldest child, Lourdes.

“I think Lady Gaga is great. When [she and daughter Lourdes] saw her, I actually felt a kind of recognition. I thought, ‘She’s got something.’ There’s something quirky about her. She’s fearless and funny, and when she spoke to the audience, she sounded intelligent and clever. She’s unique.”

Madonna’s Biggest Fashion Mistake: “It was the purple lipstick, fluorescent-green sweater combo,” says the lady responsible for more than a few fashion mistakes. “It’s OK, it was the ‘80s. It was a bad-hairstyle era. Let’s face it.”

Who would Madonna like to work with? “I wanted to work with Eminem,” she revealed. “I don’t think he wanted to work with me. Maybe he’s shy.”