Following her split from Simon Konecki, Adele found herself in a state of confusion so profound that even her young son, then just nine, took notice. The couple, who tied the knot in 2018, saw their marriage come to an end within a year. This tumultuous time proved to be one of the hardest in Adele’s life, punctuated by a poignant remark from her son that deeply affected her.

Adele said her son devastated her with just a few words

Adele and Konecki became parents to a son, Angelo, back in 2012. Although their divorce proceedings were relatively smooth, Angelo found the situation challenging. Despite this, Adele remained convinced that parting ways was the best decision for her well-being.

In a 2021 interview with Vogue, Adele reflected, “If I can uncover the reason behind my choice to leave, which was to chase my own happiness, and if achieving that happiness allows Angelo to see it in me, then perhaps I can forgive myself for his initial unhappiness.”

Initially, however, her son perceived her profound sadness, despite his tender age. When Angelo was just six and a half years old, he posed a question to Adele that starkly highlighted his awareness of her emotional turmoil.

“He looked at me and asked, Can you see me?,” she recounted. “I replied, Uh, yeah. To which he said, ‘Cause I can’t see you.”

She said his statement shattered her.

“Well, my whole life fell apart in that moment,” she said. “He knew I wasn’t there.”

The exchange inspired her to be more open with her son about what she was feeling.

Adele said her son wasn’t happy about her divorce

In 2021, Adele and Konecki were living across the street from each other, making co-parenting much easier. Still, Angelo wasn’t happy with the situation.

“He has so many simple questions for me that I can’t answer, because I don’t know the answer,” she said. “Like, Why can’t we still live together? That’s just not what people do when they get divorced. But why not? I’m like, I don’t f***ing know. That’s not what society does.”

She said that the problem with some of Angelo’s questions was that she had no way of explaining the answers to a young child.

“And: Why don’t you love my dad anymore? And I’d be like, I do love your dad. I’m just not in love,” she said. “I can’t make that make sense to a nine-year-old.”

She struggled after her marriage ended

While Adele knew that leaving her marriage was the best move, she still struggled after splitting with Konecki. She would wake up with anxiety so intense that she felt a “tsunami” was coming at her. Luckily, she could rely on friends who went through similar experiences.

“I’d be there having these meltdowns,” she said of conversations with one friend. “Like, sobbing, sobbing, sobbing. And she’d be so calm.”

She said one conversation in particular stood out to her.

“I told my friend, I feel like I’m on a steep mountain, trying to get up to the top. And she was like, You will get there. And you’ll have a nice leisurely stroll down. And then there’ll be another f***ing mountain. And I’m like, I’m not even over this one yet. And she was like, That’s just life.”

Adele has since moved on to a relationship with sports agent Rich Paul.