Adele has praised her partner Rich Paul's late mother in an acceptance speech after winning the Sherry Lansing Leadership Award at The Hollywood Reporter’s Annual Women in Entertainment Gala.
Thanking his late mother, Minerva Martin, for raising her son to be a 'proper man,' Adele said in her acceptance speech: 'I actually have many men in my life who I love and who love me, but in the spirit of this morning and in fear of bras being burned, I'm gonna thank their mothers and not them.'
'I would like to thank Minerva Martin,' she continued. 'Thank you to them for raising [a] good man who [does] not think that a woman's power diminishes their own. That's a proper man. Thank you.'
Her speech comes after she referred to herself as a 'wife' during a performance at her Las Vegas residency, fueling speculation as to whether the star has secretly married Paul.
During a conversation with the audience, Adele discussed her partner's love of American football and her struggles to grasp the rules. She then said: 'I'm not the greatest wife when it comes to football'.
This comes weeks after a viral TikTok video appeared to confirm that Tottenham-born star Adele has married sports agent Paul.
The clip featured a woman in the audience of the star’s show, who screamed 'Will you marry me?’ to the Easy On Me singer. 'You can't marry me. I'm straight, my love, and my husband's here tonight,' Adele replied.
The fan responded, 'Can you try?' and Adele clapped back, 'No, I don't want to try. I'm with Rich. You're crazy, leave me alone.’
Adele reportedly met Paul, who is LeBron James’ agent, on the dance floor at a mutual friend’s birthday party, and was pictured with him for the first time in July 2021 while sitting courtside at an NBA game.
'He's just hilarious. Oh, he's so funny, he's hilarious, yeah. And very smart. You know, he's very, very smart. It's quite incredible watching him do what he does,' Adele said about Paul on CBS in 2021.
'It's just timing. But it'd be interesting to see what my reaction is like in general to anything that hurts me now that I feel so secure in myself, and I'm talking outside of romance as well.'
Adele was previously married to charity CEO Simon Konecki. The pair started dating in 2011 and welcomed their son, Angelo, in October 2012. Six years later, the two got married in 2018 and announced their separation the following year.
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Naomi May is a freelance writer and editor with an emphasis on popular culture, lifestyle and politics. After graduating with a First Class Honours from City University's prestigious Journalism course, Naomi joined the Evening Standard as its Fashion and Beauty Writer, working across both the newspaper and website. She is now the Acting News Editor at ELLE UK and has written features for the likes of The Guardian, Vogue, Vice and Refinery29, among many others.
