Adele is opening up about how her divorce from ex-husband Simon Konecki has affected the couple’s young son, Angelo.
The British singing superstar, 33, graces the cover of both the British and American editions of Vogue magazine in November. In her first interview in five years, she gets candid in the U.S. edition about what led to her and Konecki’s split — and how they’re co-parenting Angelo, who turns 9 later this month.
Adele explained that she left her marriage in “the pursuit of my own happiness.”
“I was just going through the motions and I wasn’t happy. Neither of us did anything wrong. Neither of us hurt each other or anything like that. It was just: I want my son to see me really love, and be loved. It’s really important to me,” Adele said of her decision to part ways with Konecki after more than seven years together.
“I’ve been on my journey to find my true happiness ever since,” she added.
The “Rumor Has It” singer announced she and Konecki were separating in April 2019. Their divorce was finalized earlier this year.
While the divorce proceedings went as smoothly as possible, the events leading up to them were difficult for Angelo. Adele is still haunted by an emotional exchange she and her son had when he was only 6 1/2.
“He said to my face, ‘Can you see me? And I was like, Uh, yeah. And he was like, Cause I can’t see you.’ Well, my whole life fell apart in that moment. He knew I wasn’t there,” she recalled.
The “Hello” singer decided then to have regular conversations with Angelo about what was happening between his parents. “That’s when I started sharing with him,” said the singer.
Now, Adele and Konecki, who share custody of Angelo, have structured their lives so that their son can spend time with both parents — often together. Konecki lives in a house just across the street from Adele, and the trio regularly enjoys movie nights together.
Adele, who went Instagram official with new beau,Rich Paul,last month, ended up exploring some of those painful moments with her son in her new music.
In fact, the singer, who’s expected to drop her first album in five years any day now, wrote a song for Angelo the day after he told her he couldn’t “see” her. Then, more songs came. The new album, she explained, was a way for her to talk to Angelo about the changes in their family. She hopes he’ll understand the songs more when he’s older.
Still, Angelo’s questions don’t have easy answers, and that’s as frustrating as it is heartbreaking for Adele.
“He has so many simple questions for me that I can’t answer because I don’t know the answer,” said the singer. “Like, Why can’t we still live together? That’s just not what people do when they get divorced. But why not? I’m like, I don’t f—— know. That’s not what society does. And: Why don’t you love my dad anymore? And I’d be like, I do love your dad. I’m just not in love.”
“I can’t make that make sense to a nine-year-old,” she added.
