Adele is usually pretty private about her relationships, but fans have got small glimpses into her love life through her songs about love and heartbreak. Her longest, most public relationship was with Simon Konecki, her ex-husband and the father to her son [1]; the couple split in 2019. Fans think she gave some insight into the reasons for their breakup in the lyrics on her 2022 album "30," which features some truly heartbreaking songs.
Adele has been in a relationship with sports agent Rich Paul [2], a longtime friend of LeBron James, since 2021. Adele and Paul have even sparked marriage rumours, thanks in part to her calling him her "husband" during a performance in Las Vegas.
However, there are a few other men who've been linked to the "Chasing Pavements" singer, including a fellow superstar and some mysterious men who broke her heart in the past. Here's everyone Adele's dated through the years.
Rich Paul (2021-Present)
Send her love to a new lover. In 2021, after months of speculation among fans, the "Easy on Me" singer revealed to British Vogue [3] that she and sports agent Rich Paul were a couple.
"Yes, we're together. We're very happy," she said. They have seemingly been dating since the beginning of 2021 and were first seen together at Game 5 of the NBA Finals [4] in July. Adele and Paul then became Instagram official when she posted a photo [5] of them together at a wedding that September.
The pair have been spotted at plenty of NBA games together, and in February 2023 they attended the Grammys together [6].
Skepta (2019 - 2020)
Adele and rapper Skepta are both from Tottenham, which may explain their friendly history dating back to 2011. Amid Adele's divorce from Simon Konecki in 2019, speculation swirled she and Skepta had begun dating. The rumours took off when she and Skepta had a flirty exchange under one of Adele's Instagram posts in June 2020, as per Harper's Bazaar [7]. Four months later, talks of them being an item circulated again, but Adele put them to rest after hosting "Saturday Night Live." [8] "I'm going back to my cave now to be the (single) cat lady that I am," she joked in an October 2020 Instagram post [9] after the show. While this relationship was never confirmed, fans still believe they were romantically involved in some capacity. There's been speculation that Skepta's lyrics about dating someone way more famous than him in his 2020 song "Mic Check" may be about Adele.
Simon Konecki (2011 - 2019)
In 2011, Adele started dating British entrepreneur Simon Konecki, the CEO of Drop4Drop [10], a nonprofit that provides clean water to those who need it. He accompanied Adele to the 54th Grammy Awards in February 2012. Adele gave birth to their child, Angelo, in October 2012. Although it was thought that she tied the knot with Konecki in 2016 (she called him her husband at the 2017 Grammys), Adele later confirmed to British Vogue that they didn't tie the knot until 2018. However, their marriage was short-lived, as they separated in 2019 and finalised their divorce in 2020. The exes share custody of their son and maintain a good relationship.
The Men Who Inspired "19" and "21"
Men Adele dated before she made it big inspired some of the songs on her first two albums, "19" and "21."
Adele's first big heartbreak inspired her debut album, "19." In a 2008 interview with The Guardian [11], she revealed she dumped the anonymous boyfriend via text. "When I broke up with my boyfriend I did it by text. 'Babe, I can't do it no more.'" He inspired her breakout hit, "Chasing Pavements," and she told The Sun that he hounded her for royalties from the album after its success, per NME [12]. "For about a week he was calling and was deadly serious about it," she said. "Finally, I said 'Well, you made my life hell, so I lived it and now I deserve it.'"
Adele's fans dubbed the man who inspired her album "21" — including hits "Rolling in the Deep", "Set Fire to the Rain", "Someone Like You", and "Turning Tables" — (whom she presumably dated from 2008 to 2009) Mr. 21. In an interview with Out [13], Adele said she would have given just about anything to be with him: "I would still be singing in the shower, of course, but yeah — my career, my friendships, my hobbies. I would have given up trying to be the best."