Lionel Richie Says Adopted Daughter Nicole Was A 'Godsend'

Lionel Richie has reflected on how fatherhood changed him when he adopted Nicole with his first wife, Brenda Harvey, prior to their divorce in 1993.

"Nicole was actually a godsend. She was a little girl who needed a shot," Richie told People in its Black History Month issue.

The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame's Class of 2022 nominee and Harvey adopted Nicole in 1990. She was born to some of the couple's friends who were struggling financially. "She was used to people coming and going. She looked at me and I'd say, 'I'm not going anywhere,'" he continued.

The couple filed for divorce after Harvey came to know Richie's affair with dancer and fashion designer Diane Alexander, whom he married in 1996. The couple welcomed two children, Miles and Sofia, before they divorced in 2004.

"Brenda and I went through a very interesting time," Richie told the outlet. "We didn't agree on a lot of things, but we did agree on Nicole."

The singer and songwriter also recalled the days when Nicole would "push the limits."

"My dad and mom used to always say, 'One day you'll get yours,' and I couldn't figure out what that meant until I had kids. Nicole came to me one day and she said, 'Dad, why do you think I'm lying?' I said, 'Nicole, it's the same lie I told my mom and dad,'" he added.

Nicole, 40, is now a mother to two children, 14-year-old Harlow and son Sparrow. She shares them with rocker Joel Madden.

The "We Are The World" singer said he is happy that Nicole turned out to be a "fantastic" person.

"I'll say something and she goes, 'Dad, we don't use those kinds of words around the kids.' And I go, 'Excuse me?'" the singer said with a laugh. "She turned into a fantastic young lady."

Richie also recalled the criticisms he faced as a member of the Black community of Alabama who was pursuing a solo music career in the early '80s.

He said he had heard comments such as "Hey man, the music's not Black enough. Lionel's not Black enough. What's a Black guy doing writing a waltz?"

Despite this, Richie pressed on to keep producing good music.

"I said, 'I'm not trying to be the greatest Black writer of all time. I'm trying to be the greatest writer of all time that happens to be Black.' At the time it wasn't hip, but it was forever. I had to keep moving forward in my quest to be that," he told People.