Adele’s voice has always held the weight of heartbreak, resilience, and truth. But in 2019, the Grammy-winning singer didn’t just sing about emotional pain—she lived it.
That year, Adele, then 30 years old, shocked fans around the world by separating from her husband Simon Konecki, the father of her son Angelo. The couple had been together for years and married in 2018, but by early 2019, their marriage was over.
Though Adele has been famously private about her personal life, she opened up in a rare and emotional sit-down with Oprah Winfrey for the Adele One Night Only special in November 2021.
There, she revealed that the decision to end her marriage wasn’t sudden or dramatic—it was slow, agonizing, and rooted in a deep need for authenticity. So, did her career play a role in the split? The answer is more nuanced than a simple yes or no.
The Public Split—and Private Pain
When Adele and Simon Konecki separated in April 2019, their reps released a brief, polite statement: “Adele and her partner have separated. They are committed to raising their son together lovingly.
As always they ask for privacy. There will be no further comment.” Behind those words, however, was a woman wrestling with intense personal conflict.
In her conversation with Oprah, Adele described feeling “exhausted” trying to maintain a relationship that no longer fit. The pressure of parenting, maintaining a household, managing a global music career, and showing up for herself daily eventually took its toll.
“The process of divorce, the process of being a single parent, the process of not seeing your child every single day wasn’t really a plan I had when I became a mum,” she said.
She also admitted that the decision left her heartbroken. “I was so disappointed for my son. I was so disappointed for myself,” Adele confessed.
She described herself as someone who had been obsessed with the idea of a nuclear family, largely because she had never experienced one herself. When her marriage ended, it wasn’t just a romantic loss—it felt like a personal failure.
Career vs. Connection
Adele has never directly blamed her career for the end of her marriage, but it’s clear that her personal growth—which was, in part, influenced by her public life—played a significant role in her decision to leave.
In an interview with Vogue in 2021, she elaborated, “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.” She emphasized that her desire for true happiness wasn’t rooted in career ambition but in emotional truth. “I want my son to see me really love, and be loved. It’s really important to me.”
Her career didn’t ruin the marriage, but it may have magnified the cracks. Adele has spoken about the isolation that can come from fame, and how easy it is to lose yourself in the whirlwind of success.
Konecki, a former investment banker turned charity CEO, lived a more grounded life—one that, at first, offered Adele the stability she needed.
“I think Simon probably saved my life,” she told Oprah. “I could’ve easily gone down some dodgy paths and sort of self-destructions, being so overwhelmed by all of it. He came in and was stable, the most stable person I’ve ever had in my life up until that point.”
But as Adele evolved, her emotional needs did too.
When Stability Isn’t Enough
Adele’s decision to leave wasn’t about seeking a new life of glitz and glamor—it was about facing the truth that her heart no longer aligned with the life she had built. “It just wasn’t right for me anymore,” she told British Vogue. “I didn’t want to end up like a lot of other people I knew.”
Even though she wasn’t “miserable miserable,” she sensed that staying in a marriage without true emotional fulfillment would eventually wear her down. “I wasn’t miserable, but I would have been miserable had I not put myself first.”
That self-prioritization, often labeled selfish when coming from a woman—especially a mother—was what Adele struggled with most. She expressed deep discomfort about dismantling the life her son had known. “Me choosing to dismantle my child’s life for my own makes me very uncomfortable,” she said.
Yet she remained clear about one thing: her decision was never about rejecting her past or her ex-husband.
She still holds great respect for Konecki and values the co-parenting relationship they now share. “We live across the street from each other,” she revealed, adding that their son Angelo still sees that they have love and respect for one another.
From Pain to Power: The Album “30”
Adele’s album 30 is essentially a soundtrack to her heartbreak. The lead single, “Easy on Me,” is written directly to Angelo, an attempt to explain the inexplicable to a young boy who couldn’t fully grasp why his parents separated.
Through the lyrics, Adele offers vulnerability, seeking understanding rather than sympathy. She doesn’t shy away from admitting that she made the choice to walk away, even when it was painful.
Adele isn’t the first woman to walk away from a stable marriage in pursuit of a more meaningful life, but her global platform gave her story enormous resonance. She gave voice to countless women who feel silenced by shame or guilt over their own divorces.
Is Adele Happy Now?
Since her divorce, Adele has entered a new relationship with sports agent Rich Paul. The couple has been together since early 2021, and Adele seems to be in a place of emotional clarity. She has said that Paul is “incredible,” and she feels secure in the relationship. But more than anything, she seems at peace with herself.
Adele’s journey wasn’t about choosing a career over a relationship—it was about choosing herself. Her career gave her a platform and the resources to rebuild, but the decision to leave was deeply personal, born out of emotional necessity, not ambition.
So, did Adele divorce her husband because of her career? Not exactly. Her career may have influenced her sense of self and her evolving emotional needs, but the core reason was more intimate: a desire for true love, emotional fulfillment, and authenticity—for herself and for the sake of her son.
Adele’s story is one of quiet strength and deep honesty. She didn’t leave because she wanted more fame or fortune. She left because she wanted to live—and love—more truthfully.
