Adele Reveals How Getting Pregnant at the Height of Her Career Altered Her Perspective on Success
Women are constantly made to believe they can’t be both worthy mothers and successful in their careers, but Adele is refusing to subscribe to the narrative — and she’s her own case study on how to abandon the limiting belief.
On Thursday, the award-winning singer attended The Hollywood Reporter’s annual Women in Entertainment Gala, where she was honored with the Sherry Lansing Leadership Award. During her acceptance speech, Adele reminisced about quickly rising to fame with her second album, “21” — and how she became pregnant with her son Angelo shortly after.
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“I could only call it pandemonium ’cause that’s how it felt to me,” she shared. “Overnight, it was like I was famous. It was the strangest, most surreal experience of my life ’til to this day.” Adele added that foraying into motherhood at the then-peak of her professional success “to many would be — and was considered — career suicide.”
Rather than joining the disbelievers, the “Hello” crooner embraced her identity as “one to go against the grain.” Adele revealed, “It was there and then that I chose to reject the scarcity of success and the idea that you have to be constantly relevant to be successful. And that perhaps, just maybe, I could be a hit both on and off the stage.” With her signature brazen cheeky flair, she added, “You’ll never guess what? I f***ing got away with it.”
Adele wrapped up her empowering speech by recognizing “all the sacrifices that women before me have made” — “It’s because of them that I have every right to be the boss at work and the boss at home. So thank you,” she concluded.
The decorated musician shares 11-year-old Angelo with her ex-husband, Simon Konecki.
Before you go, check out these celebrity mothers who love being boy moms.
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