Adele revealed her growing romance with boyfriend Rich Paul in a sit-down interview with Oprah Winfrey, claiming it’s the first time she’s ‘loved myself and been open to loving and being loved by someone else.’
During her revealing CBS interview special, One Night Only, which aired ahead of her UK ITV special, An Audience With Adele, the 33-year-old artist sang for fans.
Adele spoke about her weight loss and divorce from ex-husband Simon Konecki, as well as her new lover, Rich, during the interview.
The Easy On Me singer gushed over her partner in the video, stating, ‘He’s absolutely hilarious.’ Oh, he’s hilarious, he’s hilarious. And extremely astute.
‘You know, he’s very, very smart. It’s quite incredible watching him do what he does. And just the easiness of it. It’s just been very smooth.’
But who is Rich Paul, and how long has he been dating Adele?
Who is Rich Paul? Age, career, Instagram and net worth
Rich, a 39-year-old American sports agent, is recognised as one of the most powerful men in sports.
He is the owner of a highly successful agency that represents NBA basketball players such as LeBron James.
Rich is said to have met LeBron in 2002 while working at Creative Artists Agency for the athlete’s then-agent Leon Rose.
In 2012, he founded Klutch Sports, a Los Angeles-based company. Anthony Davis, Ben Simmons, Draymond Green, and Lonzo Ball are among his other customers.
Rich is also working on his memoir, Lucky Me, which he believes will ‘uplift and encourage those who lived through it, as well as educate those who didn’t.’
Off the back of his successful career managing some of the biggest sports stars, it’s been reported Rich is worth an estimated $100 million (£74m).
He’s also active on social media, with more than 365,000 followers on Instagram where he mainly posts about his various clients and work with Klutch.
How long have Adele and Rich Paul been together?
Adele and Rich have been dating since spring 2021, a few months after she divorced Simon.
Following rumours that the two were dating, they became Instagram official after attending NBA player Anthony Davis’ opulent wedding in September, when Adele published a snapshot of the two on social media.
Adele and Rich had only been seen together once before the wedding, sitting courtside at the NBA Finals in July.
The singer said in a recent Rolling Stone profile that she met Rich on the dancefloor at a mutual friend’s birthday party years ago – before reuniting in spring, around the time her father, Mark Evans, died.
She can’t recall which tune they dance to, Adele said she assumes it was something by Drake.
Shortly before he was pictured with Adele for the first time, the businessman hinted he had been spending time with her in an interview with the New Yorker.
The father-of-three said: ‘She was over yesterday’, with the writer saying he dropped the name of a ‘major popstar’, and when asked what they were doing, he replied ‘hanging out’.
Speaking to Oprah for her special, Adele said her relationship with the 39-year-old is the first time she’s ‘loved myself and been open to loving and being loved by someone else’.
She added: ‘It’s just timing. But it’d be interesting to see what my reaction is like in general to anything that hurts me now that I feel so secure in myself, and I’m talking outside of romance as well.’
When did Adele split with Simon Konecki?
Adele was married to charity entrepreneur Simon who she began dating in 2011 and they welcomed their son Angelo the following year.
However, it was announced that they had separated in April 2019, and their divorce was finalised earlier this year.
The pair remain close, though, and charity CEO Simon – who lives across the road from Adele and Angelo – was reportedly in attendance at Adele’s performance at Griffith Conservatory, along with their son.
Adele told Oprah: ‘I think Simon probably saved my life, to be honest. He came at such a moment, whereas the stability that him and Angelo have given me, no one else would ever have been able to give me, like, especially at the time in my life. I was so young and I just think I got a bit lost in all of it.
‘He came in and was stable. The most stable person I’ve ever had in my life up until that point, even now I trust him with my life.’