EXCLUSIVE: Adele Acting Fears – Powerhouse's Partner Rich Paul 'Gripped With Fear' Songbird Will be 'Savaged Over Her Big-Screen Efforts'
Adele faces acting fears while Rich Paul is gripped by concern she will be savaged over big-screen efforts.
Jan. 12 2026, Published 6:30 a.m. ET
Super-songbird Adele has been tapped for her movie debut, and a RadarOnline.com can reveal she's thrilled to be making good on a lifelong dream to be an actress, while her fiancé, Rich Paul, fears she could find the going tough in Hollywood's cutthroat big-screen world.
The 37-year-old Set Fire to the Rain singer and 45-year-old sports agent have been together since 2021 and are now engaged, and an insider notes that "Rich is very protective of Adele, and he can't help but be worried" as she plunges into the dog-eat-dog acting world.
High Stakes Acting Gamble
Anne Rice's novel 'Cry to Heaven' will anchor Adele's film debut alongside costars Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Nicholas Hoult.
Her first flick is based on vampire novelist Anne Rice's 1982 book, Cry to Heaven, about male castrati opera singers, who are castrated as youths so their high-note voices will not deepen with age, and takes place in Italy in the 1700s, with costars Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Nicholas Hoult.
But the source said Paul is concerned for Adele because "she's such a perfectionist, and he knows that she's going to have very high standards for herself and no doubt she'll be very hard on herself. And there's the critics, they can be so harsh, especially on actresses and then multiply that by a hundred for a pop star pivoting to acting. It's not that he doesn't believe in her talent, because he absolutely does and says he has no doubts she will be fantastic."
Fame’s Rollercoaster Worries Paul
Rich Paul voiced concern about Hollywood's harsh criticism as Adele prepares to transition from music to acting.
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"But he's also very aware of what a rollercoaster it all is. A great performance doesn't always translate to great reviews."
Paul knows how fickle Hollywood can be and "is dreading seeing Adele being taken prisoner by that whole game because he knows how sensitive she is," said the source.
"He's a sports agent, but he has plenty of connections within Hollywood so he knows all the horror stories and he just wants to shield Adele from all of it."
