Adele Revealed How Becoming a Mom Changed Her Opinion of Her Own Mom in an Emotional New Interview

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Becoming a mom set fire to Adele’s preconceived notions about motherhood. In an emotional new interview, the Grammy-winner revealed how her opinions about her mom, Penny Adkins, drastically changed after welcoming son Angelo, 11.

In a cover story with The Hollywood Reporter, the “Someone Like You” singer shared that she believes all parents want a different life for their child.

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LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - FEBRUARY 05: (FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY) Adele winner of Best Pop Solo Performance for "Easy on Me" poses in the press room during the 65th GRAMMY Awards at Crypto.com Arena on February 05, 2023 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Amy Sussman/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – FEBRUARY 05: (FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY) Adele winner of Best Pop Solo Performance for “Easy on Me” poses in the press room during the 65th GRAMMY Awards at Crypto.com Arena on February 05, 2023 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Amy Sussman/Getty Images)

“The first thing I think that comes up when you have a kid is it brings up a lot of your own childhood for you,” Adele told the outlet. “And no matter what your childhood was like — good or bad or whatever — you don’t want your child to have your childhood.”

For her specifically, Adele had a lot of complaints about the way Adkins raised her. But looking back, she is able to have a lot more empathy for her mom, who was a single mother. “My mum was very young when she had me,” Adele said. “She was on her own, and I realized all the things I thought she could have done better, that she couldn’t have. So it made me respect my mum more and has given me more patience with her, as her older-woman daughter.”

“It made me see how hard it must’ve been because we had no money,” she continued. “She didn’t have my dad and stuff like that, whereas I was with Angelo’s dad [ex-husband Simon Konecki]. I’m very lucky that I can afford to look after my child properly, and more than properly.”

The “Hello” crooner also said that parenting Angelo made her realize the way you have to deal with your own problems as an adult while taking care of your child at the same time — which isn’t easy for anybody.

“Also, you realize how hard adulting is,” Adele added. “So on top of them being your mum, they’re also going through their own shit. I struggle not to show my emotions to Angelo with other things I’m going through. And I think that’s OK. Sometimes I wish I could hide it a bit less. But also, it’s not easy being an adult for anybody, in any situation.”

LONDON, ENGLAND - JULY 02: Adele performs on stage as American Express present BST Hyde Park in Hyde Park on July 02, 2022 in London, England.  (Photo by Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images for Adele)
LONDON, ENGLAND – JULY 02: Adele performs on stage as American Express present BST Hyde Park in Hyde Park on July 02, 2022 in London, England. (Photo by Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images for Adele)

Yes, yes, yes! All of this. It’s so damn hard to figure out how to pay the bills and feed your kids, while also raising them to be good humans and taking care of your own life and problems. It’s hard to understand before you become a parent, and I love how Adele is normalizing this re-evaluating and new appreciation of your parents. It may take our kids 30 years and a child before they appreciate us, mamas, but it will happen!

Adele opened up how hard motherhood is in a previous interview with I-D, per TODAY. “It’s [bleeping] hard,” she said. “I thought it would be easy. [I thought,] ‘Everyone [freaking] does it, how hard can it be?’ Ohhhhh. I had no idea. It is hard but it’s phenomenal. It’s the greatest thing I ever did. … It used to be that my own world revolved around me, but now it has to revolve around him.”

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