Being in a relationship is never easy — even when you're a multi-Grammy winning
artist like Adele. So will the singer's latest relationship
with Rich Paul work? We have some reasons why it will… and won't.
Being a public figure comes
with its own challenges when it comes to finding love. With Adele dating Rich Paul,
one of the NBA's most high-profile agents, there's no doubt the duo has had to weather
their fair share of obstacles between their respective careers. The pair first
met via mutual friends at a party. After going public in 2021, the two have had to
balance their careers and their love life, which often has them spending time apart.
Rich Paul is well respected in the sports industry, having represented high-profile
clients like the legendary LeBron James. Paul runs his own sports agency, Klutch Sports Group, which
oversees several trades and negotiations within the NBA. Because of their demanding schedules,
the couple spent months traveling back and forth from Los Angeles to New York to make
their relationship work. Adele announced her Las Vegas residency "Weekends With
Adele" in 2022 which saw her spending the year performing in Sin City. Meanwhile,
Paul frequently travels around to major cities all across the country for his
athletes. Needless to say, constant time apart can put a strain on any couple,
so this is one reason why Adele's relationship with Paul could potentially be doomed.
Rich Paul brings a breath
of fresh air to Adele's life after her long drawn out divorce from her ex-husband Simon Konecki. The
pair met first in 2011 and dated for several years before getting married in 2018. Her relationship
with Konecki was starkly different from her relationship with Rich Paul, as she mostly
kept her private life out of the public eye with her ex-husband. With Paul, however, Adele has been
seen out and about with her boyfriend's closest friends — including his star client LeBron James.
"I'm trying to like make a really conscious effort to stop being so anal with my privacy."
An insider revealed that the sports agent's sociable personality has rubbed off on Adele,
encouraging her to go out more and be less private
with her personal affairs. The source told E! News,
"She's not as concerned about being private with her life because she's
very happy with Rich. [...] [Adele enjoys] learning about the sports
world and meeting many of Rich's friends. She's going with it and is very happy."
It's often argued that the true test of a relationship is finding someone that
makes you feel comfortable — and Adele is plenty comfortable around Paul. The singer told Oprah:
"He's hilarious. He's very, very smart. It's quite incredible watching him do what
he does. And just the easiness of it. It's been very smooth."
Needless to say, the singer seems to be very smitten with her new beau. And
the fact that Adele has been so open about her life with Paul is also a
pretty good sign that their blossoming relationship will stay the course.
There was trouble in the water for Adele when
she postponed her "Weekends With Adele" residency in Las Vegas in 2022. We mean that literally,
since the floating pool that Adele was supposed to be suspended in was not up to her standards.
As a result, the singer took to her Instagram to announce the news of the canceled shows. While
in tears, Adele blamed numerous COVID cases within her team on the show not being ready.
"I'm really, really sorry. I'm really sorry."
But insiders revealed a different story, with one telling Page Six,
"She and Rich had been fighting,
and their relationship was volatile before she canceled her dates."
The source went on to reveal that Adele was often sobbing on the phone with Rich
Paul during rehearsals. The source went on to add:
"Adele is very emotional and dramatic. He's an NBA guy who has to go on the
road — they are very different — and they hit a rough patch."
If it is true that Adele spontaneously pulled the plug on her Vegas residency over arguments
with Paul, then that certainly doesn't bode well for their relationship in the long term.
"You want to go out on a good note. You want to have a good memory,
and not an argument and not a fight."
Much to fans' delight, Adele's Las Vegas
residency resumed in November 2022, nearly a year after the singer postponed the dates. The singer
put any relationship rumors to bed when she sang "Happy Birthday" to her man in front of thousands
of her fans on stage. Adele and Rich Paul's relationship may have turned romantic in 2021,
but the two had been friends for years before they fell in love. The "Hello" singer told Vogue,
"He was always there, I just didn't see him. [...] I just love being around him. I just love it."
Adele has battled rumors that she got engaged after she stepped out
in 2022 wearing a jaw-dropping ring on her finger.
"As if I would ever tell anyone if I was or wasn't."
But while she's not admitting anything yet — her happiness is obvious. In an
interview with Elle, the singer revealed:
"I'm not married! [...] I'm just in love! I'm happy as
I'll ever be. I might as well be married."
Adele also shared some snaps of her relationship with Paul via Instagram when she posted several
sweet candid photos of them together. The photos featured the couple laughing at a fast food joint,
sitting side by side at a softball game, and sharing a kiss backstage.
It's always a relationship win when your significant other is singing happy
birthday to you in front of thousands of strangers and posting about you on
social media. Small signs of affection like these are clear evidence that the
singer's relationship with Paul will remain solid for many years.
Adele knows heartbreak — just take
any one of the dozens of record-breaking ballads she's released as an example. The
Grammy-winning artist isn't afraid to be vulnerable, but her past relationships
have given her a clear idea of the future she needs. In an interview with Vogue, Adele said:
"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."
Rich Paul arrived in Adele's life at a crucial moment. The singer's father had just passed
away at 57 from his battle with cancer. Adele opened up about her issues with abandonment in
relationships in her interview with Oprah Winfrey. She attributed her struggles to
her lack of a relationship with her father during her life. But she also noted that her
new relationship with Rich Paul is something very different and special. Adele revealed:
"[It's the first time] I've loved myself and been open to loving and being loved by someone else."
Adele went on to reveal that she has often put up a defense
mechanism in relationships out of her fear of getting hurt. She told Oprah:
"It will be interesting to see what my reaction is like in general to anything that hurts me
at all now that I feel so secure in myself and I'm talking outside of romance as well."
While Paul grounds her, Adele also admitted that she finds stability on her own within herself.
Still, the fact that she's now with someone who allows her to both love herself and be loved,
is an encouraging sign that their relationship is the real deal.
"Obviously."
It's not easy to keep up with a partner who manages one of the NBA's biggest legends,
but Adele seems to be doing just fine. When they first were spotted out together during
the NBA Finals in 2021, Adele looked to be enjoying the game while cozying up to Paul.
Adele has even admitted to Elle magazine that she's actually a sports fan, saying,
"Lucky for him, I love basketball."
Adele fits into the world of the NBA pretty well,
given that she has been out and about with Paul's inner circle several times
since they went official. The same year the pair started dating, Paul took her as his
date to his client Anthony Davis's wedding. A source revealed to Us Weekly at the time:
"He was at the table the whole time,
and he let her just do whatever she wanted ... She was dancing with everybody."
It wasn't the first time Paul took her as his wedding date to mingle with his basketball
friends. The singer looked quite comfortable posing next to her man alongside LeBron James and
his wife Savannah at the nuptials of Kevin Love in 2022. Keeping with her English roots, Adele also
keeps up with her home soccer team — Tottenham Hotspur F.C. The singer donned the jersey
for the spurs and snapped an Instagram photo following the end of their 2021 season, writing,
"You did us so proud! You brought our game home and brought us all together."
They say that relationships last longest when a couple shares common goals and interests. So
considering that they're both huge sports buffs, Adele and Paul will definitely have
plenty to talk about for many years. Another big win for their long-term relationship prospects!
Adele has had her fair share of life's
ups and downs, from losing her estranged father to cancer to her drawn-out divorce that was
scrutinized in the public eye. She also underwent a huge body transformation during her career,
battling the public's criticism of her weight throughout her years as a celebrity.
But the singer's boyfriend also faced his fair share of problems. Rich Paul is set to write
a memoir called Lucky Me about his struggles to be an entrepreneur growing up as a Black man in
the United States. The sports agent took to Instagram to express his feelings, writing,
"Many people told me I should write a book that tells the story of Klutch
Sports Group and what it means to be a successful sports agent. But being an
agent isn't my story. [...] My story comes from my family, my community,
and the challenges we overcame just to survive being young and Black in America."
All relationships inevitably face challenges — and Adele and Rich Paul's relationship surely
will at some point. But by facing adversity both in their lives and careers, the couple
has the experience to overcome any future struggles that may arise in their relationship.
So seeing they'll both know how to persevere and stay the course when the going gets tough,
it's easy to see this as being just another reason why their relationship will ultimately work.