Lionel Richie has been singing about love for a long time, but his muses have changed throughout the years. Before amassing massive amounts of fame and notoriety, the 73-year-old singer married his high school sweetheart, Brenda Harvey, in 1975. They enjoyed a mostly happy 17-year marriage (which included adopting his first daughter, Nicole Richie) until divorcing in 1993.
After their divorce, Richie married Diane Alexander in 1995, and together, they had two children: Miles Brockman and Sofia Richie. The marriage lasted less than a decade, with the couple divorcing in 2004. Their split reportedly cost Richie a whopping $20 million.
Meeting Lisa
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In 2014, the American Idol judge started dating model and lifestyle blogger Lisa Parigi.
According to Parigi, whose age hasn't been confirmed but is believed to be in the 30s, the two met at a dinner party, and the rest was history. "I'm from Switzerland, and at the time, I was working for a tech company, and I took time off to travel," she told Harper's Bazaar in 2022. "I wanted to explore some things, just see the world a little bit. And so I decided to go to Los Angeles, California."
"Long story short, I got invited to this dinner on very short notice, completely unplanned. So here I am at this dinner, he was at the same dinner, we get introduced to each other, and it was, what can I tell you, it was very organic and very random, but we had great conversations, we spoke all night long about everything, and yet it was, you know, the universe, I don't know, here we are. And it's been beautiful so far."
Who Is Lisa Parigi?
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The Swiss-born beauty got her start working in tech and information technology for Fortune 500 companies before venturing out to start her own businesses. Parigi ran multiple lifestyle blogs, including Dream. Design. Discover. and The Estate Collection, and has launched several businesses. Her current venture is a vegan skin care brand called Glow Up Beauty, which started out of her own need for fuss-free beauty products she could use on the go.
"One of my favorites is the under-eye collagen mask, which is inspired by all my travels," she said. "As I moved from one place to another, I wanted to have something easy to use, uncomplicated and quick. So I developed this mask that I can use in the hotel rooms, planes and cars, which is very simple and easy to use."
Parigi also an investor and NFT collector and is active in growing the cryptocurrency space. With her background in tech, it's no surprise that she is a strong proponent of emerging technologies, especially blockchain.
Co-Parenting Sylvester
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Outside of attending red carpet events and gala dinners, Parigi and Richie keep a pretty low profile — except when it comes to their dog, Sylvester. The adorable Pomeranian has his own Instagram account, and his bio states that he's the "boss of the house." The couple keeps his over 5,000 followers updated by posting his latest adventures and sweet pictures with his dog dad, Richie.
Other than Sylvester, the pair has made little mention of having any more kids. However, the singer has hinted that he's open to the idea of being a dad once more. "I'm willing to become a father again," he told the Mirror in 2016. "I might have just let a secret slip there, but so be it — Lisa and I are cool with the idea of children."
Marriage, on the other hand, is a different story. Richie has made it clear in past interviews that he has no intention of walking down the aisle again (a $20 million divorce will do that to you). But Parigi doesn't seem to mind.
"Lionel has been there twice, and it was definitely tough for him," she said in the same Mirror interview. "I don't need a ring to validate my relationship with him. What we already have is enough. So many people need marriage to validate a relationship, but I'm not one of them. Lionel doesn't owe me anything."
Happy in the Moment
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Right now, it seems that the pair is content with just doing life together as is — which, when you're dating an iconic musical sensation, often involves traveling the world and attending glamorous events. Parigi has said she goes to pretty much all of Richie's concerts and that her favorite song of his is "Stuck On You."
"There are so many iconic songs, and they're all, wow, I would say between 'Endless Love' or 'Stuck On You,'" she told Harper's Bazaar. "Yeah, I'll go with 'Stuck On You,' the lyrics, the melody, and although I go to literally almost every show, each time, it feels like I'm hearing it for the first time, so it captivates me, and it feels special. So yeah, I guess I would pick that one today as my favorite song."
As for the future of their relationship, only time will tell. For now, they're just living in the moment and enjoying each other's company. And that, if nothing else, is a beautiful thing.
