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Adele and her boyfriend, Rich Paul, are still going strong nearly two years after they first went public with their romance.
The singer and the NBA agent first met at a mutual friend’s birthday party, Adele revealed in an interview with Rolling Stone. By the summer of 2021, they had embarked on a serious romance.
Paul is the first person Adele has dated since her divorce from Simon Konecki—with whom the singer spent more than six years (and who inspired her 2021 heartbreak album 30)—and while the two have kept their relationship mostly private, glimpses from public outings and candid interviews suggest it is the kind of romance that is made to last.
Below, see all the major highlights from their relationship.
December 7, 2023: Adele opens up about getting emotional while reading Rich’s memoir.
In a conversation with The Hollywood Reporter, Adele reveals her emotional reaction to reading certain parts of Paul’s memoir, Lucky Me: A Memoir of Changing the Odds, released in October.
“Rich and I have always known everything about each other since the day we got together,” she says. “It was very emotional reading about his mum, because obviously she’s not with us, so I’ve never met her. And she’s such a big part of Rich and the kids and the kids’ mum’s life and stuff like that. But I knew all about it. I’m getting a bit emotional. [Starts crying.] It was hard for him to write that.”
She also mentions something mysterious Paul has experienced.
“Every time Rich travels, the airplanes always play my music,” she says. “We can’t work out if it’s because they know that we are together, or if it’s just what they do.”
Lucky Me: A Memoir of Changing the Odds, by Rich Paul
October 9, 2023: Rich responds to those marriage rumors.
After Adele refers to Paul as her “husband” and to herself as his “wife,” the sports agent provides some context. Talking to Gayle King in an appearance on CBS Mornings, he says the relationship has “been great,” adding, “I think she would agree that we definitely helped each other.”
“We’re in a good space. Happy,” he continues. “She’s superb. We’ve been great for each other.”
He still, however, does not clarify whether he and the singer are married, but simply notes that he’s “not the type of person” to put his personal life out in the open.
September 2023: Adele sparks marriage speculation.
During weekend 27 of her Las Vegas residency, the singer has an interesting conversation with a fan, in which she refers to Paul as her husband.
It all happens when a female fan asks Adele to marry her. “You can’t marry me—I’m straight, my love. And my husband’s here tonight, he’s here,” Adele tells the fan.
“Can you try?” the fan then asks. “No, I don’t want to try, I’m with Rich. You’re crazy! Leave me alone,” Adele replies jokingly.
The moment is captured by an onlooker on TikTok:
Days later, the singer sparks marriage speculation again when she calls herself a “wife.”
During her Weekends With Adele residency at the Colosseum in Las Vegas on September 23, Adele jokes that she’s not the best partner to the sports agent, as she doesn’t particularly understand or love football. She says, “[I’m] not the greatest wife, really, when it comes to football—even though my partner absolutely loves it.”
August 2023: Adele reveals she wants to have more kids.
In video footage captured during one of her Las Vegas concerts, Adele told a pregnant fan, “I really want to be a mum again soon, so I’ve actually been writing a list [of baby names].”
She continued, “Every time I see a name that I like, I write it down on my phone.”
The fan asked Adele to help her decide between two baby names: Parker or Spencer. “Well, I can’t say Parker because Rich likes that name,” the singer responded. “I’ll say Spencer. I like Spencer.”
December 2022: Adele sings happy birthday to her boyfriend.
Adele paused her show during one of her Las Vegas concerts to serenade Paul for his birthday. In a sweet video captured by a fan, she says, “I love you more than life itself. We wish you a happy birthday.” Adele and the stadium full of fans then launch into a dramatic rendition of the classic happy birthday song.
August 2022: Adele talks marriage and family.
Adele—who shares nine-year-old son Angelo Adkins with ex-husband Konecki—shares her hopeful plans to remarry and have more kids following her split from Konecki, presumably this time around with Paul.
In a new cover interview with Elle, the singer affirms her deep love and appreciation for her boyfriend and says that she’s “absolutely” hoping to marry again soon and expand her family. “I’m a homemaker and I’m a matriarch, and a stable life helps me with my music,” she tells the magazine. And of her romance with Paul, she adds, “I’ve never been in love like this. I’m obsessed with him.”
The singer also specifies that she and Paul have not actually tied the knot yet. “I’m not married. I’m not married!” she says. ”I’m just in loooove! I’m happy as I’ll ever be.”
“I definitely would like a couple more kids. It would be wonderful if we can,” the singer also reveals, in an appearance on BBC podcast Desert Island Discs back in July. “If not, I’ve got Angelo. I just want to be happy.”
June 2022: Rich hints at having more kids.
Parenting seems to be on the radar for both parties. In an exclusive interview with E! News, the agent talks fatherhood and reflects on what he plans to do differently as a parent. “If I was to have more kids, I’m looking forward to being a different dad,” Paul tells the outlet, adding that he vows to be a “more patient dad” if he gets the chance to be.
May 2022: Adele commemorates their first anniversary.
On May 11, the singer commemorates her first year of romance with Paul in a carousel post on Instagram featuring a romantic series of photos of the two looking affectionate. “Time flies,” she writes in the caption.
The photos also seem to confirm that the two have at some point taken the big step to purchase a home together—as shown by the post’s cover photo of the two holding up keys in front of their new mansion in Beverly Hills.
November 2021: Adele gushes over their romance.
In a new CBS special, Adele reveals that her relationship with Paul has been the first in which she has loved herself enough to also fully love her partner. “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,” she says.
”He’s just hilarious. Oh, he’s so funny, he’s hilarious, yeah. And very smart. You know, he’s very, very smart,” she also says. ”It’s quite incredible watching him do what he does.”
Earlier this month, paparazzi photos also reveal the singer and the sports agent heading home from a filming session for Adele’s TV special, An Audience With Adele—an appearance that also marks her first performance in four years.
October 2021: Adele gets candid about their bond.
Adele opens up about her healthy, loving relationship with Paul in a cover interview—explaining how her 33 years of living and recent divorce have helped her see that this is what she truly wants. “I don’t feel anxious or nervous or frazzled,” she says. “It’s quite the opposite. It’s wild. … I’m a 33-year-old divorced mother of a son, who’s actually in charge. The last thing I need is someone who doesn't know where they’re at, or what they want. I know what I want. And I really know what I don’t want.”
The singer adds, “I just love being around him. I just love it.”
September 2021: Adele debuts Rich on social media.
Adele goes official with Paul on Instagram with a sweet, affectionate shot of the two inside a photo booth at Paul’s client Anthony Davis’s wedding.
“They were so nice,” a family member of the bride tells Us Weekly of the two at ceremony. “[Paul] was at the table the whole time, and he let her just do whatever she wanted. … She was dancing with everybody. They would hug at the table. They’re a nice couple.”
July 2021: They make their public debut, and sources confirm they’ve been dating for months.
The pair go unintentionally public with their romance in Phoenix, where the two are captured getting cuddly courtside during a game between the Phoenix Suns and the Milwaukee Bucks at the NBA Finals.
Insiders at Us Weekly and People then confirm that the two have been dating officially for several months, traveling coast to coast between New York and Los Angeles to make things work.
Following their appearance, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst explicitly refers to Adele as Paul's girlfriend on The Lowe Post, adding, “This is the first time that they’ve come out in public together.”
May 2021: Rich reveals that they’re hanging out.
In a profile for The New Yorker, the NBA sports agent first reveals that he’s seeing a “major pop star” whom we now know to be Adele—because “Why not?” he adds. However, Paul makes it a point to clarify that the two are not yet officially dating at this time. “I’m not dating, I’m single,” he says. “Put that in the story.”
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