Adele Speaks out About ‘Brutal’ Conversations About Her Body Transformation

Adele was “very f—ing disappointed” with the conversations surrounding her body as the Grammy-winning musician began to lose weight in the midst of her 2019 divorce from ex-husband Simon Konecki, with whom she shares 9-year-old son Angelo. Speaking to both British and American Vogue for their cover stories ahead of the release of her new album, Adele revealed she was struggling with anxiety and isolation at the end of her marriage. 

Finding trainer Gregg Miele at West Hollywood’s private Heart & Hustle gym was instrumental in what Adele soon found to be a therapeutic routine. “It became my time,” she told the U.S. publication of her gym sessions. “I realized that when I was working out, I didn’t have any anxiety. It was never about losing weight. I thought, ‘If I can make my body physically strong, and I can feel that and see that, then maybe one day I can make my emotions and my mind physically strong.’”

Despite getting hooked on the gym, Adele insisted she never got into dieting. “Ain’t done that. No intermittent fasting. Nothing. If anything I eat more than I used to because I work out so hard,” she told British Vogue. She was also irritated at the conversation surrounding her weight loss, telling the U.K. magazine “that whole thing of like, ‘gets revenge body’… Oh my God. Suck my d—!”

She continued it was “ridiculous” that people wanted to portray her as a divorced woman “spinning out of control,” adding, “Because what is a woman without a husband? It’s bulls—.” The “Rolling in the Deep” artist continued to British Vogue that she thinks people were “shocked” because she didn’t share her fitness journey publicly. “They’re used to people documenting everything on Instagram, and most people in my position would get a big deal with a diet brand,” she explained. “I couldn’t give a flying f—. I did it for myself and not anyone else. So why would I ever share it? I don’t find it fascinating. It’s my body.”

To American Vogue, Adele reasoned that her body had been “objectified” throughout her entire career, not just now. “I understand why it’s a shock. I understand why some women especially were hurt. Visually I represented a lot of women. But I’m still the same person,” she said. Despite her confidence, the musician admitted she was hurt by a lot of the conversations surrounding her body: “The most brutal conversations were being had by other women about my body. I was very f—ing disappointed with that. That hurt my feelings.” She noted to British Vogue, “You don’t need to be overweight to be body-positive — you can be any shape or size.”