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Music legend Lionel Richie‘s youngest daughter, Sofia Richie, born in 1998, got engaged to the love of her life in April 2022. “Forever isn’t long enough,” she captioned a post showing her now fiancé, Elliot Grainge, getting down on one knee to pop the question. The relationship had Lionel’s seal of approval from the very beginning, as an inside source EXCLUSIVELY told HollywoodLife he “could not be happier” about their romance.
While the Oscar, Golden Globe, and Grammy-winning artist isn’t married as of this writing, he has walked down the aisle twice before – which may have been enough for him. “I don’t think I’ll get married again. I’m a little spooked on that,” he told Irish Mirror in 2016. “You try marriage once and you try it twice and think, ‘Do I want to roll the dice again?’ I’m not convinced.” However, he hasn’t completely given up on love. The 72-year-old “Stuck On You” singer has been in a committed relationship with Swiss model and former blogger Lisa Parigi, 32, since 2014. Take a look below to learn more about Lionel’s longtime lover and his ex-wives.
Brenda Harvey
Brenda Harvey and Lionel were college sweethearts, having met at Tuskegee University, where Lionel graduated with a degree in economics. They married in 1974 and adopted 9-year-old Nicole Richie in 1990. Reflecting on Nicole’s adoption, Lionel said it was one of the best decisions he made with Brenda. “Nicole was actually a godsend. She was a little girl who needed a shot,” he told People in February 2022. “She was used to people coming and going. She looked at me and I’d say, ‘I’m not going anywhere.’”
Unfortunately, Brenda and the American Idol judge divorced in 1993 reportedly due to an affair Lionel was having with who would become his second wife. Years prior in 1988, Brenda had been arrested for assaulting Lionel and his mistress after she caught them together at her apartment, per the Los Angeles Times.
However, it seems that they have been able to fix their relationship and Lionel even said he pulls out all the stops for Brenda on Mother’s Day. “In my case, my mother passed … but then I’ve got Nicole [Richie’s] mom,” the Grammy Award-winner told Us Weekly in 2019. “I’m going to be busy on Mother’s Day. … We’ll have a semi-family reunion. I send flowers, I do dinners. I do the whole thing.”
Diane Alexander
Diane Alexander appeared in Lionel’s music video as a dancer for his 1986 hit “Dancing on the Ceiling.” Their alleged affair likely began sometime after that, and the two made their love official by tying the knot in 1995. The pair had two kids together: daughter Sofia and son Miles Richie, who was born in 1994 before his parents were legally wed. Their marriage ended in 2005 due to irreconcilable differences, according to Divorce Magazine. The site also claimed Diane asked for $300,000 a month in child and spousal support, reasoning that she and Lionel “had an extraordinary, extravagant lifestyle.” There is not much known about their relationship today.
Lisa Parigi
Lionel has been dating Swiss, Chinese, and Caribbean model and designer Lisa Parigi since 2014. They keep their relationship very private, but they occasionally appear on red carpets together. However, in a rare comment about their relationship, Lionel said Lisa makes him feel secure. “She’s extremely beautiful, but most importantly she’s smart and helps me deal with my crazy world,” he gushed to People in 2019. “At this time in my life when you can be so jaded about things, [my girlfriend] Lisa kind of makes everything feel a bit safe.”
