Adele on her relationship with Rich Paul: ‘I’ve never been in love like this’

“I’ve never been in love like this. I’m obsessed with him.” That’s how singer Adele, 34, described her feelings for her boyfriend Rich Paul, 40, in an interview with the British edition of Elle magazine. It was a rare display of public affection from the singer, who has tried to keep her personal life out of the headlines since 2018, when she divorced businessman Simon Konecki, the father of her nine-year-old son Angelo.

Rich Paul, a sports agent, has three children of his own. The coupe is now renovating their new home to welcome the blended family. The pair live in a Beverly Hills mansion designed by architect Richard Landry, who is known as “the King of the Megamansion.” The home has eight bedrooms and 12 bathrooms. Adele bought the property off actor Sylvester Stallone last January for $58 million.

In the interview with Elle, Adele declared that she “absolutely” wants to get married again. The statements follow rumors that the couple are secretly engaged – rumors that intensified after the singer was spotted with a tear-shaped diamond ring at the Brit Awards in February. But in the interview, Adele dismissed these claims: “I’m not engaged. I just love high-end jewelry.”

The year 2020 was a difficult one for Adele. She and Konecki split in 2019, and then the Covid-19 pandemic hit. She was grieving the end of her relationship, locked in her house and suffering from anxiety attacks. In her darkest moments, she recorded voice notes of herself crying, talking to her son Angelo. Some of these voice notes can be heard on her album 30. “It was horrible,” he remembers. “I was flying around this house like a fucking wasp.”

But little by little, she dug herself out of the hole. She committed to therapy and tried outlandish remedies such as sound baths and meditation. But it worked. She also started playing sports and reconciled with her father, Mark Evans, who was absent for most of his life. He died of cancer in May 2021. And lastly, she fell in love.

Adele and Rich Paul first met at a party a few years ago. They became friends right away, but their relationship didn’t turn romantic until 2021. They decided to go public that same year, when she sat next to him at an NBA game in July. “Lucky for him, I love basketball,” Adele told Elle.

On the question of children, the singer said she “definitely wants more kids,” but not in the near future. “I’m a homemaker and I’m a matriarch, and a stable life helps me with my music,” she said. “But right now, all I got in my brain is Vegas. I wanna fucking nail it.”

Adele canceled her Las Vegas residency in January just 24 hours before she was due to on stage. In a tearful video, published at the time, Adele said that it was “impossible” to start her show with “half the team” sick with Covid-19, but several media outlets said it was because of problems with her boyfriend Rich Paul.

“It was the worst moment in my career, by far,” she told Elle. Following the debacle, Adele says she “went into hiding.” She even made a fake Twitter account to read all the criticism she was receiving. “I was embarrassed,” she said. “But it actually made my confidence in myself grow, because it was a very brave thing to do. I’m very proud of myself for standing by my artistic needs.” In July, the singer performed her first live concert in five years in Hyde Park in London. The reviews were overwhelmingly positive and now the singer has announced new dates for the Las Vegas residency.