Adele reveals her secret marriage in emotional Grammys speech
Famously private singer thanks her husband, talks of depression and admits she doesn’t love her father
ADELE dominated the Grammys with a history-making haul of awards, the revelation of a secret marriage and a George Michael tribute to which she called an abrupt halt because it was out of tune.
The biggest night in the US music calendar was supposed to belong to Beyonce, who had been nominated for all the big prizes. But Adele, the 28-yearold from Tottenham, north London, swept all before her.
With an honesty that has become her trademark, she reduced the audience to tears by speaking about her post-natal depression. She also paid tribute to her husband – famously private, the singer had not told fans she was married.
She had made a triumphant comeback to the music scene with her album, 25, and its opening track, Hello, after a period out of the spotlight in which she had a baby boy. The album sold 7.4 million copies in the US in just seven weeks.
“Five years ago, when I was last here, I also was pregnant, and I didn’t know,” she told the audience at the Staples Centre in Los Angeles, referring to the night in 2012 when she won in the same three categories.
“In my pregnancy, and through becoming a mother, I lost a lot of myself. And I’ve struggled, and I still do struggle being a mum. It’s really hard.
“But tonight, winning this kind of feels full-circle, and like a bit of me has come back to myself.”
Adele dedicated her success to her son and to Simon Konicki – whom she pointed to in the audience and referred to as her husband – and also thanked Jonathan Dickins, the manager who masterminded her comeback.
“I appreciate it, the Academy, I love you, my manager, my husband and my son – you’re the only reason I do it,” she said. “I owe you everything,” she told Konicki, an Old Etonian entrepreneur and charity boss. “I love you like you’re my dad … I don’t love my dad, that’s the thing. That doesn’t mean a lot. I love you like I would love my dad.” Her father, Mark Evans, left the family when she was two years old. In 2012 she said she had cut him out of her life after he gave an interview to a newspaper.
Adele had been booked to provide one of the highlights of the night at the Staples Centre in Los Angeles: a tribute to George Michael. But as she sang the opening bars of Fast Love, it was clear she was out of tune. She called a halt and asked for the song to start over.
“I’m sorry. I can’t mess this up for him,” she said. “Can we start again?” The next performance was faultless and brought a standing ovation.
Backstage, she said she felt “devastated” at fluffing the song, and put it down to nerves. She also felt embarrassed to have beaten her idol, Beyonce.
“I can’t possibly accept this award. I’m very humbled and I’m very grateful and gracious, but the artist of my life is Beyonce,” she said.