When I fall in love, it’s beyond race or gender, or whether they’re a woman or man... I want a soulmate
Emeli Sande on her new romance and ex’s horrific killing
AT THE height of her fame, Emeli Sande stepped out in front of a global audience of more one billion to deliver an emotionally charged version of her hit song Read All About It. Few who saw her perform at the opening ceremony of the 2012 London Olympics could be left unimpressed by the impassioned vocals of a singer enjoying phenomenal successes.
Now, Ms Sande has revealed that after years of chasing her dream and emotional turmoil in her personal life, she has finally found true happiness with new partner Yoana Karemova, 32, a Bulgarian classical musician.
Ms Karemova is also smitten, describing Ms Sande as ‘my soulmate, my everything’.
Just three months ago, the Scots singer confessed she feared a backlash as she revealed on Instagram she had found love with a woman – after a painful divorce from her childhood sweetheart, marine biologist Adam Gouraguine, and a public break-up with boyfriend, Hypo, 39, who was stabbed to death in a fight at a Platinum Jubilee party last month.
Rather than being confused about her sexuality, however, Ms Sande was simply open to finding a ‘soulmate’ regardless of race, gender or any other consideration.
‘It was never something where I put barriers,’ she said. ‘If I fall in love with someone it goes beyond race or sex or gender or any of those things.
‘Falling in love should be a soul connection. For me that was always my ambition.
‘Whether it’s a woman or a man I want to find my soulmate and really feel that I can trust them beyond anything including all these definitions we put on one another. Yoana was
Initially it was this amazing connection through the music, then it turned into love
the person who has fulfilled all my wishes and dreams.’
She is open, she added, to getting married a second time and will give up music – when the time is right – to have children.
But in the meantime, she said the pair have cemented their relationship by recording an album of love poems to each other.
Ms Sande said: ‘I’ve set up a studio in the bedroom. I find night-time is the best time to create because it’s nice and quiet.
‘There is a whole Yoana album ready to go.’
She added: ‘That’s how we communicate sometimes, through songs, and because we have a musical understanding they are like little love poems to music. She wrote music when we were falling in love and so did I, so we have this blended love album.
‘We met through music because we were working together so it was very natural. She’s a brilliant classical musician and I wanted to learn more during lockdown.
‘Initially, it was this amazing connection through the music and then it turned into love.
The in-person meeting, creating music together, made it beautiful.’ Ms Sande, 35, first enjoyed major success as a featured artist on Chipmunk’s 2009 chart-topper Diamond Rings. Solo hits followed including 2011’s Heaven, which reached No2 in the charts.
She went on to sell more than 20 million singles and ten million albums, as well as writing hits for US superstars Alicia Keys, Katy Perry and Rihanna. By the time she performed at the Olympics, she had collected four Brit Awards and two Ivor Novellos.
But privately, her life was in pieces, with her marriage to Gouraguine over within two years of tying the knot. She said: ‘When you feel you are facing the world alone it does get you a bit panicked because you have to be focusing on yourself all the time.
‘It was really exciting back then but I’ve found a good balance between work and personal growth. Having protection and understanding from someone makes me a lot calmer.’
This week Ms Sande, who was raised in the village of Alford, Aberdeenshire, returns to Scotland to headline the Belladrum Tartan Heart music festival near Inverness, as part of a bill that includes Van Morrison, Nile Rodgers & Chic and Scots rockers The Fratellis.
She said: ‘I’m excited. It’s great to perform in Scotland again. Also, that’s a festival I did at the beginning of my career.
‘Hopefully, people enjoy the set and they see the growth and we can reconnect. There is nothing that connects you to your audience as well as live music.
‘My mum is coming, my auntie is coming and my sister and kids are coming. It will be a homecoming and full circle in my career.’
I’ve found a good balance between work and personal growth