Adele has had a rollercoaster relationship with alcohol. The multi-award-winning singer has long been open about how much she has loved a tipple or two over the years. She even sings about it in her hit single "I Drink Wine" on her 2021 album, "30". But she's also had periods of sobriety, choosing to abstain from alcohol during particularly tumultuous times of her life.
While chatting with the crowd at one of her Las Vegas residency shows in October, she revealed she quit drinking three and half months before, although she didn't expand about what led her to make the change. Previously, she took some time being sober after her divorce from Simon Konecki [1] and has opened up about her dad's toxic relationship with alcohol.
A few weeks later, she announced she will be back drinking as she takes a break from her Weekends With Adele shows, but there are many celebs who have chosen to make sobriety a permanent change. Lily Allen announced she is four years sober [2] earlier this year, having previously opened up about her struggles with alcohol addiction and substance abuse. Tom Holland originally took part in Dry January, before deciding to continue not drinking [3] as he felt he has more "mental clarity", and Liam Payne chose to quit alcohol [4] after finding it didn't serve him anymore.
In Adele's typically candid style, read ahead for all the times the singer has opened up about alcohol and sobriety.
Adele Announces She's Back Drinking Red Wine: November 2023
Adele spoke to the audience during her Weekends With Adele residency in Las Vegas at the start of November to inform them that she was going to finish the second leg of her shows with a glass of red wine. "I'm just going to chill. I'm annoyed as well that I'm sick because this is red wine weather," she told the crowd as she also spoke of feeling a little under the weather. "I stopped drinking, but obviously now I'm ready to start again because it is my break. And I can't drink red wine ever when I'm singing because I don't know about you, but red wine f***s me up. I cannot handle it."
Adele, who had been four months sober, also explianed how her tolerance for wine has decreased over the years. "I'm 35 going on 85. I have to have half and half. Half sparkling water and half white wine with ice," she added, via The Sun [5]. The "Easy on Me" singer is due to restart her residency for the final leg in January 2024.
Adele Reveals She’s Sober After Being a "Borderline Alcoholic": October 2023
During her Las Vegas show on 13 October, Adele spotted fans in the audience drinking pints of whisky sours. "I stopped drinking quite a long time ago...I stopped drinking, when did I stop drinking? It feels like forever. Maybe like three and a half months ago," she announced via a video shared on X [6], formerly known as Twitter. "It's boring. I mean, oh my god, it's boring. I was literally borderline alcoholic for quite a lot of my twenties, but I miss it so much. I cut out caffeine, so enjoy your whiskey sour, I'm very, very jealous," she added.
Some have speculated she cut drinking prior to her son Angelo's 11th birthday [7]. During the same show, she revealed that she has been planning week-long celebrations for her only child.
Adele Talks About Drinking During the Covid Pandemic: March 2023
While addressing the audience at a March Las Vegas show, she spoke about the difficulties of 2020, when the world was put in lockdown amid the Covid pandemic. "I remember when I came here in Covid, in lockdown, it was 11am and I was definitely like four bottles of wine in — like we all were," she said, via the Daily Mail [8]. "I said in 2020 that I wanted to put my album out. And we were all at home just drunk basically."
Adele Tells Oprah About Quitting Drinking After Her Divorce: November 2021
The "Easy on Me" singer sat down with Oprah [9] to discuss her life as she released her album "30". During the chat, which included discussions about her weight loss, being a mum, and her boyfriend, Rich Paul [10], she also spoke of how she turned to alcohol during the midst of her divorce from Konecki.
"At first, I was probably keeping the alcohol industry alive," Adele said of the first few months after getting divorced. "Once I realised that I had a lot of work to do on myself, I stopped drinking, and I started working out lots and stuff like that to keep me centred."
Adele Speaks About Her Dad’s Relationship With Alcohol: October 2021
Adele was the cover star of Vogue [12] in October 2021, during which she spoke more about her years growing up. Her dad, Mark Evans, died from cancer in May 2021, and the pair had long had a strained relationship. Adele saw him before he died, but she recognises that alcohol played a part in their difficulties. "I've always had a very close relationship with alcohol. I was always very fascinated by alcohol. It's what kept my dad from me. So I always wanted to know what was so great about it," she said to the outlet.
She goes on to speak about the press, who pounce if they think a celebrity might be drunk. "They descend, and descend, and descend on you, which drives you f*cking mad," she added.