Adele Gets Personal in Sit-Down With Oprah

In CBS special, star gives a mini-concert, talks about her divorce, weight loss, new love
By Jenn Gidman,  Newser Staff
Posted Nov 15, 2021 12:30 PM CST

For those who've been waiting to see Adele perform in public again, this weekend offered that chance, and much more. The 33-year-old star showed up Sunday night in a two-hour CBS special, which alternated between showing Adele crooning 10 old and new songs at Los Angeles' Griffith Observatory to a star-studded audience, and having a sit-down with none other than Oprah Winfrey in the latter's rose garden. The Adele One Night Only program, which USA Today notes was recorded last month, aired ahead of the release of her fourth studio album, 30, which comes out on Friday.

The Washington Post highlights some of the "most personal revelations" from the interview, including her reunion with her estranged father before he died of cancer this year; her feelings on fans' reaction to her weight loss ("It’s not my job to validate how people feel about their bodies. And I feel bad that, you know, it’s made anyone feel horrible about themselves. But that’s not my job ..."); and the guilt she has over her divorce and how it affected her 9-year-old son, Angelo. "I'm still not fully over it, of me choosing to dismantle my child's life for my own—it makes me very uncomfortable," she told Oprah, adding she still trusts ex-Simon Konecki "with my life."

But she also glowed as she talked about her new relationship with sports agent Rich Paul, whom she started dating earlier this year. She said Paul is "hilarious" and "very smart," and that for the first time, she's in a relationship where she has "loved myself and been open to loving and being loved by someone else." CNN notes one particularly touching moment that took place during the concert part of the program: a marriage proposal.

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A man named Quentin spent the day with his girlfriend, Ashley, picnicking in a park near where Adele was set to sing, and when concert time arrived, the man blindfolded his partner and put noise-canceling headphones on her, then took her to the concert area, where Adele had instructed the audience to stay completely silent. When Ashley was finally allowed to take the blindfold and headphones off, she asked, stunned, "Who are these people?" Her boyfriend popped the question, she said yes, and Adele emerged to sing "Make You Feel My Love" to the happy couple. Watch the proposal here. (More Adele stories.)

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