Adele & Rich: The Perfect match

THE SMITTEN STAR FINALLY TAKES HER ROMANCE WITH HER NEW SOULMATE PUBLIC

- Sara Tapia

Their romance may have started out with a low-key date at the basketball, but three months on, Adele is head over heels for beau Rich Paul. The pair, who are said to have met in April at an Oscars afterparty, have attempted to keep things casual between them – though the singer privately admitted to pals that she knew something was special about him pretty much straight away.

“Adele is very careful with her heart and she’s been through a lot with her divorce, so she wasn’t looking to throw herself into something more permanent unless she knew it was the right thing for not only her, but [her son] Angelo. He comes first with everything she does,” a source exclusively tells WHO of the romance. “To Adele’s surprise, things progressed slowly and naturally with Rich.”

After their courtside appearance, Adele, 33, and Paul, 39, were then spotted on a string of dates around Los Angeles. But the high-profile sports agent did his best to keep things as intimate as possible, even having sections of the city’s most exclusive restaurants shut down for just the two of them so not even other elite clientele knew they were there. “He really respected her wish to keep things private and made a lot of effort on that, which she loved,” shares WHO’s insider. “They quite enjoyed the cloak and dagger of it all for a few months, but eventually Adele knew that this relationship was real and she was ready to tell the world.”