How Adele is at centre of bust-up between Alan Carr & his ex after ‘spiteful’ divorce where they ‘divvied up celeb pals’
ALAN CARR is at the centre of a bust-up with his ex-husband in a row over pop superstar Adele.
And — breaking his silence in an exclusive interview with The Sun on Sunday — Paul Drayton has hit back at the TV star’s claims that he was greedy in their divorce.
The actor spoke out after Alan said on TV that he had won “custody of Adele” after his 13-year relationship with Paul ended.
Paul, 51, hit back: “Adele is one of my best friends and the truth is she was closer to me than Alan.
“The comments he made were in bad taste. They really upset me, to be honest, as there was also the suggestion I was being greedy.
“I texted Alan afterwards and said, ‘This is out of order, it’s upset me and it’s upset my mum.’
He didn’t respond.
“I sent Adele the same clip and she replied, ‘Just take the high road, babe,’ meaning just ignore it.
“She is amazing at giving advice, she really is. I know that whenever I need her, she will be there for me because she’s a loyal friend and an incredible person.”
Alan, who turned 47 on Wednesday, was appearing on 8 Out Of 10 Cats Does Countdown on Channel 4 last August when he made the Adele gag.
Pulling out a series of dismembered props in front of a celebrity panel, he said his ex’s lawyer had insisted on a 50 per cent split.
He joked they had agreed who would see Adele and who would spend time with TV star Gok Wan.
Alan said: “I’ve gone through a really spiteful, messy divorce.
‘My mum didn’t like it’
“My ex’s lawyer said take half of everything, look at that.
“But not just that, household items. Look at that, half a kettle, half a toaster, half a fondue set. All the cheese goes all over the floor.
“Obviously, people want to know about . . . we’ve divvied up our celebrity friends. I get custody of Adele. Paul gets Gok at the weekends. We’re still friends. I know he’s taken half of everything. But the one thing he can’t take is my dignity. Am I right?”
Paul believes one of the show’s sketch writers was responsible for the “really nasty” comments.
While he has not spoken out before about their divorce, he now wants to finally set the record straight.
He added: “My mum didn’t like me being called greedy on television.
“They were saying that I had asked for half of everything, but that wasn’t the case at all.
“And of course Adele didn’t cut me off. Some of Alan’s friends are no longer speaking to me, which I totally understand as it’s difficult for them.
“But Adele and I have always been close and that’s not going to change.
“Alan and I got divorced in April last year and we agreed what to settle on fairly and amicably. We are still friends and both get to spend time with our dogs.”
It comes as Carr’s new comedy drama Changing Ends is winning rave reviews and has been soaring up ITVX’s streaming charts.
The six-part series is a semi- autobiographical take on Alan’s life growing up in 1980s Northampton.
Alan and Sunderland-born Paul were introduced at a central London private members bar in 2009.
Paul was working in catering to pay the bills, having put his acting ambitions on hold.
He said: “Alan immediately started to crack out the jokes and he made me laugh. We started flirting and we ended up going to a club and having a right laugh.
“I woke up the next day thinking, ‘Did I snog Alan Carr last night?’ I rang my friend and he said, ‘Yes you did and he wants to see you again.’
“Within a couple of months, we’d moved in together.”
They first met mum-of-one Adele, now 35, early in their relationship when she was living nearby in West London.
Paul said: “We were backstage at the Brits and I saw her walking past. I shouted, ‘Adele, my other half loves you.’ “She said, ‘Who’s your other half?’ I said, ‘Alan Carr.’ She said: ‘I love Alan Carr.’
“We started meeting up with the dogs and she would come round for a glass of wine.
“She loved me because I was very straight up and honest.
“We would have heart-to-hearts all the time. I always call her Pam. It’s because we used to go to TK Maxx together and I’d shout ‘Pam’ rather than use her real name.”
In 2012, Alan and Paul moved on to a farm in West Sussex, where they kept rescue horses, sheep, alpacas, and chickens.
A few years later, Paul proposed.
Rolling In The Deep singer Adele, said to be worth £165million, was so thrilled she insisted on hosting their wedding at one of her two new homes in Los Angeles.
She also got ordained so she could officiate the 2018 ceremony.
Paul said: “There were only six of us at the wedding including Adele, her then-husband Simon and two of our closest friends.
“Adele planned the whole thing. The ceremony took about half an hour. Adele wrote the vows — I still have them — and put on priest-like robes so she looked the part.
“We had a wall of flowers and pictures of our families and dogs on a table covered in rose petals. At one point, one of the neighbours started mowing their lawn.
“Adele got on the phone and said, ‘Excuse me, I’m really sorry but I will pay for someone to mow your lawn but you can’t do it today, We had a right laugh.
“Adele sang for our first dance accompanied by our friends, one of whom is Pink’s guitarist and the other being Taylor Swift’s backing singer.
‘Tired and anxious’
“The song was “Bloody Mother F***ing A***hole by Martha Wainwright. It was hilarious.
“We had cocktails afterwards with a pianist playing.
“We cut the cake then got into a limo filled with champagne and all six of us were taken to board a private jet to Las Vegas that Adele also insisted on paying for. We had a six-course meal at a Michelin-starred restaurant then went to Caesars Palace hotel where we met Celine Dion.
“Adele was extremely generous and I feel eternally grateful for everything that she did.”
Paul quit drinking following their romantic honeymoon in Mexico, as he could see his alcohol consumption was getting out of control.
But he fell off the wagon during lockdown and the couple decided to separate after Paul posted a photo of his bruised face on Instagram in August 2021.
Fans assumed he was accusing Alan of domestic abuse but he describes it as a “cry for help” and there is nothing to suggest the comic did anything wrong.
In January 2022, Paul was jailed for 14 weeks after admitting being four times the limit while driving a 4X4.
After hitting rock bottom, he has embarked on what he calls a “journey of sobriety” and he is also in a new relationship.
As well as writing a play about addiction and a one-man show, he is also working on a memoir about his extraordinary life.
Paul said: “Before the pandemic hit, I felt like I was getting my mojo back and was starting to write and build my profile a bit.
“When Covid came, things started to crack. I didn’t know what was wrong with me but I couldn’t get motivated and I was feeling tired and anxious all the time.
“I started drinking two bottles of wine some days just to alter the way I felt.
“I know it was hard for him [Alan] to live with an alcoholic but when he started talking about divorce, I felt insecure and lost. “We decided to end the marriage after I posted that picture.
“It was a cry for help, but I think the people with vested interests in Alan saw me as a loose cannon.
“I want to make clear that Alan was never violent towards me.
“I used to beat myself up because I wanted to tear the addiction out of me. I’ve been diagnosed with ADHD. and I think that explains some of my behaviour.
“Alan and I were still living in the same house when the incident that got me arrested happened, but we were already separated.
“Ultimately, I’m glad we separated because I’m in a much better place.
“I hope Alan can find happiness too and I wish him all the best.”
- Paul has not asked for an interview fee but has requested that a donation be made to charity.
