Meet Rich Paul: the sports agent superstar who just married Adele

Ladies and gentlemen, Adele is married! “I’ve never been in love like this,” the star once said of her new beau. So who is the man who won her heart? Amy Francombe has a guide

As the founder of Klutch Sports Group, which represents sporting stars LeBron James, Odell Beckham Jr. and Ben Simmons, Rich Paul was already household name in the US. Yet, over here, little was known about the superstar agent until he was linked with his now-wife Adele.

Last year, Paul released his memoir Lucky Me: A Memoir of Changing the Odds via Jay Z’s publishing house, Roc Lit 101, which gave readers a deeper look into his life beyond his ultra-famous partner and lucrative business deals. It covers his childhood growing up in a deprived area of Cleveland, Ohio, with a drug addicted mother who would leave him alone at home for days on end, to the lessons his father taught him that helped elevate him to the upper echelons of Hollywood.

“I’m happy in all aspects of my life,” Paul, 41, told PEOPLE about his impressive journey. “I’ve always been somebody that never allowed things to get to me.”

ADELE AND RICH PAUL SHARE A KISS BACKSTAGE
ADELE

At the time of Paul’s memoir release, he also revealed that his partner (now wife) Adele, found it difficult to read. “It was very emotional. I think a lot of it probably hit home.” Of course, it’s no surprise that the Set Fire to the Rain singer was greatly moved by her husband’s poignant memoir — especially as the pair were rumoured to have got hitched long before they revealed it to the public.

Throughout her Las Vegas residency, the superstar musician was dropping hints that she had married the CEO. First there was the huge diamond ring (granted, she’s been wearing it since last year’s Brit Awards), then she referred to herself as “not the greatest wife when it comes to football”. But eventually the rumours were quelled by gossip site Deux Moi, who reported that Adele was in fact engaged to beau Rich Paul. As per the “very reliable source” the couple — who started dating in September 2021 — were planning their wedding for this summer. Now, it seems they may have been correct.

The marriage was confirmed via audience members in attendance at a recent Alan Carr comedy show where Adele was in the crowd. “I was at Alan Carr’s comedy show in LA tonight and Adele was in the audience,” one attendee told Deux Moi, “Alan asked the crowd if anyone got married recently and Adele shouted ‘I did.'”

As the marriage rumours are confirmed, we go inside the remarkable life of Adele’s new husband, Rich Paul.

From selling sports jerseys out of his car to representing the world’s biggest sports stars

NBA: Playoffs-Dallas Mavericks at Golden State Warriors
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Born in Ohio, Cleveland, Paul began his career selling vintage basketball jerseys from his car boot. However, it was a chance meeting with LeBron James in 2002 at an airport, where the young hustler was rocking a Houston Oilers jersey that turned the basketball player’s head, which gave him his big break.

“That was the initial connection. And then the attraction was probably because I was fly. It takes a special kind of person to acknowledge somebody else’s fly,” explained Paul in an interview with GQ. “Fly could mean work, fly could mean dress, fly could mean knowledge and expertise. Him not being so into himself allowed him to see that flyness. That was the initial attraction.”