Adele has kept mum over the years when it comes to her relationships, preferring to share the joys and sorrows of love through her music.
As the songstress appears to have found a new beau in NBA agent Rich Paul, however, fans have begun to wonder just who the Grammy-winner has been singing about all these years.
Check out Adele’s dating history below, including the two mystery men who inspired some of her best work.
“Mr. 19”
Adele’s debut album, “19,” was largely inspired by a partner who cheated on the songstress before she found fame. While she’s never shared his name, she did reveal in a 2008 interview with The Guardian that she dumped him via text message.
“I prefer people to write it down in a message or text or email,” she at the time. “When I broke up with my boyfriend I did it by text. ‘Babe, I can’t do it no more.'”
“Daydreamer,” meanwhile, was about a friend she developed feelings for and who, after she bared her soul to him, left her 18th birthday party with another guy.
Adele would later claim to the Sun that Mr. 19 “For about a week he was calling and was deadly serious about it.”
“Mr. 21”
Life inspired art a second time for the diva when she crafted 2011”s “21.” Again, she chose to keep her partner’s identity private — but revealed that the album was written over the course of three months following a painful break-up.
The co-writer behind the smash “Someone Like You,” Dan Wilson, told American Songwriter that Adele “told me she wanted to write a song about her heartbreak… She told me a little bit about the guy who broke up with her.”
A biography on the singer posited the heartbreaker in question as fashion photographer Alex Sturrock — and Adele indeed shouted out someone named “Alex” at an awards show at one point — but neither he nor Adele has confirmed as much.
Simon Konecki
The “Someone Like You” singer began dating Simon Konecki in 2011, welcoming a son, Angelo, in 2012.
“It’s the most serious relationship I’ve ever been in; we’ve got a child together and we live together,” she told Variety in December 2016, via Us Weekly.
The couple confirmed their marriage in March 2017, but the relationship was short-lived, as the pair separated in April 2019, with Adele filing for divorce by September.
Sources at People claimed at the time that the “Cold Shoulder” singer focused on self-improvement following the split, including living a healthier lifestyle.
“For her, it’s not about losing weight,” the source said. “She wants to stay healthy for her son’s sake, and though it’s been challenging for her to keep a new workout routine, she is sticking to it.”
Their divorce was finalized in March 2021.
Skepta
It was initially reported that Adele and UK rapper Skepta went on “a few dates” in October 2019, just a month after the Grammy winner filed for divorce from Konecki.
The pop star and grime MC reportedly dated quietly for a year before People reported things were “heating up” between them in October 2020. Soon after, Adele attempted to squash the relationship whispers by claiming she was single on Instagram.
However, the pair were seen together as recently as July 2021 shopping at a discount mall just outside San Bernardino, Calif.
Neither have ever confirmed their relationship.
Rich Paul
The “Hello” singer and sports agent Rich Paul sparked dating rumors by sitting together at Game 5 of the NBA Finals in July 2021.
ESPN’s Brian Windhorst was the first to refer to Adele as Paul’s “girlfriend” on his “The Lowe Post” podcast. Days later, Page Six confirmed the news with a source claiming they’re “100 percent” dating.