Adele Easy On Me: 'There's still a stigma about getting divorced when young'

Adele with ex-husband Simon Konecki

Regrets, pain, loneliness - Adele has put it all out there in her new single Easy On Me.

The first track from her "divorce album", 30, features brutally honest lyrics as she tries to explain her decision to walk away from her marriage in 2019, while asking her son and ex-husband for understanding.

And while many fans are just delighted to hear her voice again, for others, who've also been through a divorce, the words and music have taken on special significance.

"I changed who I was to put you both first," she sings, "but now I give up".

"That lyric is just so powerful," says Helen Thorn, who wrote the book Get Divorced, Be Happy.

"Making that decision to be your best self is incredibly important. So thank you Adele. We need more voices out there saying divorce is OK."

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Helen's "whole world collapsed" when her marriage ended in spring 2020.

But as the months passed by she realised divorce was "the best thing that had happened".

"I was living my life for the first time without compromise, without criticism and with full control. It felt empowering."

'Still a stigma'

The song has really hit home for others, who like Adele, got divorced after not being married for long.

"I think there's definitely still a stigma around getting a divorce when younger," says Jen Crichton - who founded the feminist magazine The Flock after getting divorced a couple of years ago.

The end of Jen's marriage was a positive step because it "marked the end of a situation that was no longer working for anyone", she tells Newsbeat.

"Yet whenever I told anyone I was getting divorced, they'd sort of tip their head to one side, apologise, sympathise."

Jen says getting divorced was a huge decision - but the right one for her

Jen says friends and family repeatedly asked her if she and her ex-partner had tried therapy before splitting up.

"I'm sure people meant well, but the inference was always that divorce was a sad situation, a failing. Suggesting it might be a good thing definitely felt like it would be frowned upon.

"Today, I'm in a very happy relationship, I do a job that I adore, and my son is parented by the best version of me. That feels like a pretty good outcome."

Over the last 50 years, the median length of time a divorcee's marriage lasted for fluctuated between 8.9 years and 12.5 years.

That data is only for opposite-sex couples though, because same-sex marriage has only been possible in England and Wales since 2014.

"We tend to view divorce as something that happens between warring middle-aged couples and when you're a bit younger, there's this idea that you just didn't try enough," Jen adds.

"So hearing Adele talking about reclaiming her own independence and happiness through separation - I think that's a really positive message."

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