Adele: ‘I definitely want more kids. I’m a homemaker and I’m a matriarch’

Adele was supposed to spend this year going back and forth between her life and home in LA and her residency in Las Vegas. In January, she canceled her residency because nothing was ready with the staging, and it didn’t seem like Adele was actually ready to do the residency. When she tearfully canceled the residency – for which tickets had already been sold – people were really mad at her and disappointed in general. Adele covers the September issue of Elle, and a huge chunk of the cover story is about why she canceled the residency, how she figured out the staging and how the show will be up and running this fall. I know Adele feels bad and she feels like she let her fans down, but so much of this episode was mishandled. Some highlights from Elle:

Canceling the Vegas show: “It was the worst moment in my career, by far. By far. I was so excited about those shows. It was devastating. There was just no soul in it. The stage setup wasn’t right. It was very disconnected from me and my band, and it lacked intimacy. And maybe I tried too hard to give it those things in such a controlled environment.”

How she felt after she canceled: “The first couple of months was really, really hard. I was embarrassed. But it actually made my confidence in myself grow, because it was a very brave thing to do. And I don’t think many people would have done what I did. I’m very proud of myself for standing by my artistic needs.”

Her secret Twitter: For a while, she had used a secret Twitter account to occasionally lurk her mentions, but as frustrated fans began to flood her social media accounts with critical comments about the abrupt announcement, she deleted it. “I was embarrassed,” Adele says, grimacing at the memory. “I went into hiding.”

Licking her wounds: She more or less stopped promoting the album, afraid that doing so would make it seem like she didn’t care about the canceled shows. (As a result, she has at least one unreleased music video for 30 in the queue.) “I didn’t want anyone to think I weren’t trying my best,” she says, her voice getting quiet. “And I was.”

The idea of a Vegas residency always made sense to her: “I think I’m right to do it right now. I know I’m not, like, 60 years old and I haven’t got 20 albums under my belt. But I think my music will work in a show in Vegas. I haven’t really witnessed [30] out in the world yet. It’s gonna be so emotional. I don’t know what I’m gonna do with meself.”

She fell madly in love with Rich Paul. “Beyond. I’ve never been in love like this. I’m obsessed with him.” Adele and Paul had been friends for some time, but their relationship became romantic in 2021, and they went public when she sat courtside with him at an NBA Finals game that July. (“Lucky for him, I love basketball,” Adele says. She’s partial to the Phoenix Suns.) She turned 34 on May 5, and celebrated her one-year anniversary with Paul—as well as her purchase of a nearby Beverly Hills mansion formerly owned by Sylvester Stallone—nearly a week later.

Their blended family: Paul has three children of his own, including a daughter in college, and they are renovating their new home together with a blended family in mind. (Adele’s one existing personal social media account is for Pinterest, where she says she’s been collecting ideas for interiors.)

Whether she wants to get married again: “Yes, absolutely… Well! Well. Well, I’m not married. I’m not married.” We sit with that for a beat, and then I try again: So…are you engaged? “I’m not married. I’m not married!” she says again, and takes a big gulp of coffee before singing, “I’m just in loooove! I’m happy as I’ll ever be. I might as well be married.” (In another conversation soon after, she is more straightforward. “I’m not engaged. I just love high-end jewelry, boy!”)

She wants more kids: “I definitely want more kids. I’m a homemaker and I’m a matriarch, and a stable life helps me with my music. But right now, all I got in my brain is Vegas. I wanna f–king nail it.”

[From Elle]

All year, I’ve felt like something feels “off” about Adele. I’m not saying that she’s on a sh-t list or that I dislike her, I just think she’s going through some sh-t personally and professionally and a lot of that is self-made. I genuinely got the sense months ago that she was coming to the realization that SHE is the drama. Remember her Graham Norton interview in February when she seemed to want people to think that she was engaged, and that she was planning to have a baby next year? I keep thinking that Rich was probably not feeling her public pressure at all. Anyway, I hope Adele doesn’t cancel the residency a second time. Here’s hoping.

Cover & IG courtesy of Elle.

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38 Responses to “Adele: ‘I definitely want more kids. I’m a homemaker and I’m a matriarch’”

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  1. Julia K says:

    Obsession is not love. It’s unhealthy and will end badly for her.

  2. MaryContrary says:

    Maybe it’s somewhere else in this interview, but I don’t get any sense that she feels badly for letting her fans down, or how financially this was hard for them-and she’s sorry. It’s all about her. And the very public gushing about Rich Paul-oh girl, no. I always liked her, and found her funny-but now she’s completely rubbing me the wrong way.

    • Maddy says:

      She comes across as very self-absorbed. I had never noticed that before.

    • FHMom says:

      She actually called herself brave for cancelling the show. Very, very out of touch.

    • Tiffany:) says:

      I heard they didn’t refund ticket holders, and then re-assigned performance dates to those ticket holders. So you had no choice when you get to use those tickets you bought a year ago, with some being scheduled the day before thanksgiving or on Christmas Eve, etc. Not sure if that is true, but if it is, it’s terrible!

      When you cancel for legit cause, non-appearance insurance covers refunds. It wouldn’t cover these cancellations.

      • Colby says:

        This is correct. It’s really messed up.

      • SophieJara says:

        And wasn’t it cancelled like the week of? Where people had already spent hundreds (thousands?) to fly to Vegas and get hotels and things? I feel like I read that at the time.

    • Colby says:

      That is bugging me as well. Her PR team needs to help her do better here because she is sounding really self absorbed.

  3. Noki says:

    I could be wrong, but he does not seem into her AT ALL. He could be doing his cool agent thing in public but i think she is way more into him and she is ready to risk it all. I remember when K Fed entered Britneys life and she practically cancelled a world tour (i think story at the time was she broke her leg) so she could play house with him.

    • Sigmund says:

      Well, in Britney’s case in retrospect, she likely didn’t want to tour and was being made to for the $$$ by her father. So that feels a little different to me. If she could have stopped working and been a housewife/SAHM back then, I think she would have. She didn’t have that option.

      Adele…AFAIK, she’s not in a similar situation as Britney and has more control over her own life and career.

      • Noki says:

        This was way before Jamie stepped in, this was 2004 her manager than was Larry Rudolph. However i think the point is the same, she is over it and head over heels and she doesnt care what gets disrupted right now.

    • Colby says:

      Eh I wouldn’t make any assumptions about his feelings…Few reasons for that: 1. He’s not getting interviewed on TV or in magazines, so their microphones are not the same size and he doesn’t have (or probably want) the opportunity to gush about her. 2. She has made a career out of conveying her emotions, specifically about relationships. She knows that’s what we want to hear and she’s good at it. His career is being behind the scenes of superstars. He probably is just fine being behind the scenes here too.

  4. girl_ninja says:

    I agree that Adele is going through some things that require therapy. Hell. So am I. But it seems as though she gone through a lot with her weight. There was a pressure from certain groups that came with that and her divorce. Then add Covid on top of being in a new relationship, it has been a lot. Not an excuse for the weird and irresponsible residency cancellation the first time round but a reason. There also may be some immaturity issues there as well. I hope she gets through this odd patch.

  5. JEM says:

    I liked the days when Adele was living her life quietly, then released an album, did some press, then went back to living her life quietly. She is driving me crazy with all this drama and all the exposure! Also who self-identifies as a matriarch?

  6. Solidgold says:

    I like the Elle shoot. Adele is giving rich bored housewife. The shoot is just missing some alcohol props.

  7. phaedra14 says:

    WTF did she do to her face?! Its like she’s been Kardashianized.

    • Waitwhat? says:

      She looks like Geri Halliwell in the 2nd (b&w) shot.

    • AnnaKist says:

      Phaedra, that’s exactly what I came on to ask. If she hadn’t been identified by the caption, I could have taken 30 guesses as to who it was and still not been correct. She looks like a completely different person. Sad.

    • lucy2 says:

      I don’t think she did anything, but it’s makeup, photoshop, lighting, and her weight loss.

    • SarahLee says:

      If you hadn’t told me that was Adele, I would not have known. Honestly. And BS that she feels bad. I have friends who had tickets to that show – airfare and hotel booked. Tickets were not refunded but “reassigned.” Airfare not refundable. Hotel gave them a credit, but wouldn’t you know, the room rates have gone up significantly (as has airfare) and the hotel isn’t honoring the original room rate. She flaked out and by all accounts didn’t rehearse which was why all of a sudden the “staging” was off. What staging? Adele literally stands in one place (or sits or walks) and sings. Did she suddenly have some wild staging, backup dancers, etc? I’ll be curious this fall if she actually goes through with this and if so, what the staging is.

  8. Amy Bee says:

    I like Adele. All the best to her and the residency. The DM was pouring scorn on her for buying her new house but eff them. It’s her life to live the way she wants.

  9. HeyKay says:

    That cover photo is bad. Bad. Scrape off 3 layers of makeup, min.

    • Nope says:

      she’s gorgeous and she does not need to look so made up! she’s becoming hollywoodized.

      • AMA1977 says:

        I think she looks so much older with all of that makeup. She would look so much fresher and younger without so much, but she’s always worn a ton of makeup from what I can remember.

        She also really doesn’t sound like a 35 year-old to me in this interview; it brought to mind the adage that famous people get “stuck” at whatever age they are when fame hits. She sounds like early-mid twenties to me at most. I also agree that she seems more into Rich Paul than he does her. Final thought, it bugs me when people who have children with a spouse/partner then gush about how they’ve never loved anyone like they love their subsequent partner. I’m sure it’s hurtful to the kids to read/hear that.

  10. Mabs A'Mabbin says:

    Damn. Wherever she is mentally right now is NOT where she needs to be.

  11. Laalaa says:

    I thinks she rubs people (including me) the wrong way because she stopped being humble and started owning the fact she is Adele.
    I am not sure how much she deserved it with her behaviour and how much is my projection of her but damn, she sounds so selfish in every way!

    • Solidgold says:

      At some point, when celebs have made it they all stop being humble. It’s the ones that remain oh so humble that rub me the wrong way. Ex. Taylor Swift.

      Adele is massive. She put in the work and has the right (IMO) to bask in her success. And when someone does that I don’t think they will come off humble. Now, I don’t agree with the way she handled her Vegas booking.

  12. TwinFalls says:

    She’s coming across as not fully in control of her emotions. I hope things are better for her in reality.

  13. Fabiola says:

    Not sure why people are coming down in her so bad. She has the right to cancel the residency since it’s hers. If she was not feeling it then she would have put on a poor show and people would be mad at her for that. I’m sure it cost her a lot of money to cancel the show but it’s her right. Also, she’s in love. Don’t come down on her for being in a love bubble. People are so miserable and want the same for others.

    • Mimi says:

      She can cancel all she wants but she needs to refund people their money, which she has not done.

    • Tiffany:) says:

      She waited until the last minute to cancel, and Vegas is a destination place to see a show. She should’ve seen these issues weeks in advance to give fans time to cancel flights and hotels.

  14. lucy2 says:

    I think on a personal level she seems like a fun and lovely person (she did a Nikkie makeup tutorial video that was a delight) but I think she gets way too in her own head with stuff and has probably had so much success in recent years she’s disconnected from the real world a bit. The way the Vegas thing went down was bad, and I’m so confused by the focus on staging – people want to go to see her sing, all she needs is her voice and a pianist. I hope it all works out and things get back on the right track.

  15. Klaw says:

    She seems like she’s struggling to find herself after divorce, Covid, weight loss, fame, new relationship, etc.

    The things she’s speaking so boldly about make her seem insecure about them – Rich Paul and her Vegas residency.

    A lot of us have to figure out who we are post divorce. I used to say that I felt like I could live like a 17 year old on weekends when u didn’t have my babies (not that I did) – then it was a gruelling working mom of 2 littles lifestyle the rest of the time. A lot of who you are seems undefined all over again.

    All that to say, I hope she is able to sort out her shit, retain some humility, and live a fulfilled life, largely out of the public eye.

  16. Luna17 says:

    I’ve never been a huge fan of hers (all her music sounds so similar, no risks taken and very overly produced and commercial) but the past year has been weird vibes. I think she is really wanting more kids and a wedding and her partner isn’t there and she is trying to force it.

  17. HandforthParish says:

    She cancelled 24 hours ahead! Don’t tell me she couldn’t address the issues sooner.
    It doesn’t feel brave, it feels petulant. The only times concerts get cancelled with such short notice is when a musician is unwell.

  18. Mimi says:

    For people who wonder what happened to her – money. Insane amounts of wealth that she frankly doesn’t deserve, it’s not like she won a Nobel prize for science. She’s a great singer and was lucky to be born with her voice. That’s it basically, there’s nothing more to her.
    She used to be a poor uninteresting average gal like all of us. And then she got lucky and became a multimillionaire and global superstar so now she can buy herself glamour, privilege, beauty and a-kissing assistants 24/7. Of course she changed.