Last week, in a flurry of pictures from the usually relatively private star, Adele gave us an insight into her relationship with Rich Paul. As well as confirming they had moved in together – into a £47m house, more on that later – Adele seemed to be celebrating the couple’s one-year anniversary, captioning the post, “Time flies”. The singer and her 40-year-old sports agent beau went public with their relationship last June after they were pictured at a basketball game together.
Adele, 34, shared a pic of the couple holding up keys in front of their new Beverly Hills pad, once owned by actor Sylvester Stallone. The eight-bedroom property had originally been on the market for close to £100m, but after almost a year with no takers, the price was slashed. Adele is believed to have bought it back in January – adding it to her portfolio of three other LA properties – but this new Insta post seems to confirm that this is her and Rich’s home together.
But with Rich spending a lot of his time travelling the country with clients and partying at VIP events, it’s unknown how much time the couple will actually spend together in their fancy mansion. In fact, the sports agent most recently missed Adele’s 34th birthday. While the singer posted stunning pictures of herself to celebrate the occasion, Rich was in Miami with his pal and client LeBron James partying at a £3k-a-head dinner ahead of the F1 Grand Prix.
Adele looked happier than ever in her birthday post, telling her followers, “If time keeps healing and smoothing out all the creases in my life like it does as the years fly by, then I can’t wait to be 60.” However, we’re told that behind the scenes, things weren’t quite as rosy.
“The fact is that right now they are leading very different lives, which doesn’t really bode well,” an insider tells heat. “Adele is such a homebody, and she is loving being out of the spotlight and feeling comfy in her new mansion. But she doesn’t have Rich there, which is causing concern among their friends.”
There were previously rumours of “trouble in paradise” back in January, when Adele cancelled her much-anticipated Vegas residency, but the singer fought back in her own way with a throwaway remark on an Instagram caption, which read, “Oh, and Rich sends his love”. And the next month, she was flashing a huge ring on her engagement finger.
But the current state of their relationship is said to be raising red flags again.
“Rich is active – working as a sports agent means he’s chasing his clients around America, which he loves. Adele isn’t like that,” we’re told. “She prefers hanging around her house and having nights in with her son and dogs, and sometimes a few friends. Some pals are wondering where this relationship is going to go next.”
The couple did end up celebrating Adele’s birthday with a quick trip to Napa Valley, but our source tells us the singer’s friends are worried that the belated trip – coupled with the uncharacteristic romantic Instagram post – might just be papering over the cracks.
“She tried to hide the problems in her first marriage to Simon Konecki for years, so her friends were shocked when they got divorced. That’s why everyone is a little concerned about her and Rich – they’re worried that if things are bad, Adele will just cover it all up. She’s feeling the pressure in her career right now and the last thing she needs is another relationship failure on the cards.”