Rich Paul May Have Hinted At Adele Romance A Month Before Recent NBA Date

It looks like sports super-agent Rich Paul may have hinted at his budding romance with Adele a month before they were sighted cozying up during a basketball game last week.

Paul and Adele went public with their courtside courtship when they attended the NBA Finals together on July 17. After their basketball date sparked romance rumors online, a source confirmed with E! News the singer was indeed dating Paul.

A closer reading of a recent interview with Paul, however, suggested the basketball player may have been dating Adele for more than a month now.

In an article published on May 31 by The New Yorker, Paul revealed to Isaac Chotiner he was hanging out with a major pop star. “She was over yesterday,” Paul told Chotiner. “Clarified whom he meant, dropping the name of a major pop star,” Chotiner said in a follow-up statement.

Paul told Chotiner the unnamed pop star was just “hanging out,” to which Chotiner responded, “Why are you hanging out?” “Why not?” Paul replied.

Chotiner refused to identify the name or gender of the “pop star” they were talking about, but he noted, “I wasn’t entirely sure whether this exchange was for my benefit.”

Rich also remarked in jest he was officially a “free agent” at the time, saying, “I’m not dating. I’m single. Put that in the story.”

After photos of Adele and Paul at the NBA Finals made the rounds online over the weekend, Chotiner tweeted a portion of his interview with Paul, suggesting the pop star they were talking about was Adele. “Here’s one little tidbit from the profile I wrote in May of sports agent Rich Paul,” he captioned his post.

Adele stepping into the spotlight with LeBron James’ agent was the first time she hinted at a new relationship following his split from ex-husband Simon Konecki. Her recent sighting with Paul came as a surprise for many fans, as Adele has not admitted to anyone since her divorce settlement with Konecki was finalized in March.