Global superstar Adele has candidly shared her battles with fame and postpartum depression, offering a rare glimpse into her life beyond the spotlight.
The singer, whose James Bond theme Skyfall earned her a Grammy Award, revealed that the birth of her son, Angelo, brought unexpected emotional challenges. “I was obsessed with my child. I felt very inadequate; I felt like I’d made the worst decision of my life,” Adele admitted.
Speaking to Vanity Fair, Adele detailed the difficulties of postpartum depression, a condition affecting hundreds of thousands of women worldwide. “You’re worried you might hurt your child; you’re worried you weren’t doing a good job. I had really bad postpartum depression after I had my son, and it frightened me,” she said.
Although initially reluctant to confide in others, Adele found solace in connecting with friends and other mothers experiencing similar struggles. She emphasized the importance of self-care: “Eventually, I just said, I’m going to give myself an afternoon a week, just to do whatever the f**k I want without my baby. It makes you a better mom if you give yourself a better time.”
The Rolling in the Deep singer also acknowledged her susceptibility to depression and her lifelong connection to melancholy. “The music I’ve always been drawn to is sad… I have a very dark side,” she explained, tracing it back to the loss of her grandfather at age 10.
Adele credits open conversations with friends for helping her overcome the postpartum blues. “One day I said to a friend, ‘I fkin’ hate this,’ and she just burst into tears and said, ‘I fkin’ hate this, too.’ And it was done. It lifted,” she said, adding that she hasn’t felt that low since.
Her story sheds light on the realities of motherhood, fame, and mental health, encouraging women to speak openly about postpartum struggles and seek support.