Lionel Richie is baring it all in his new memoir, “Truly.” As reported by Page Six, the “American Idol” judge reflects on his very public divorce with his first wife, Brenda Harvey.
The breakup was highly publicized, with Richie recalling Harvey showing up at his then-girlfriend’s house, resulting in an explosive confrontation that involved the police.
Along with his father’s illness and a looming throat surgery, Richie wrote in his memoir that he was struggling with his mental health.
Actor Gregory Peck gave the “Hello” singer some clarity on dealing with his divorce: “You can’t upstage the scandals of Hollywood, Lionel. A messy divorce is just another day in Hollywood.”
After his second marriage to Diane Alexander ended in 2004, Richie fell in love ten years later with his now-girlfriend, Lisa Parigi.
“That was it. Thunder rolled. Lightning struck,” Richie wrote.
Richie Was Once Cynical About Love
Two public divorces left Richie wary when it came to love, and even voicing the word out loud. In “Truly,” he wrote (via People), “In the business of fame and entertainment, ‘I love you’ loses its magic fast.”
“The part that I hated most was that this word that I use as my religion could become a throwaway phrase. When I write, ‘I love you,’ and when somebody plays that record, that’s an emotional moment,” the singer shared.
Richie continued, “When a man or a woman says, ‘I love you, still,’ after everything, that’s an emotional moment. Naive as I was, it took me some time to see that everybody that says ‘I love you’ to you when you’re famous, that’s something they say, not something they feel. Over time, even when writing emotional love songs, I began to distrust ‘I love you.'”
Back in 2019, Richie told People, “I’m a man who’s been through the ups and the downs, the ins and the outs of love.”
He said, “Love is not an exact science, it’s something you have to go through. People don’t walk in love, people fall, which means you’re out of control, there’s no logic. How you survive is your story.”
Despite two failed marriages, Richie called himself a “hopeless romantic.” On his longtime girlfriend Parigi, the “American Idol” judge said, “She’s extremely beautiful, but most importantly, she’s smart and helps me deal with my crazy world.”
Richie added, “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.”
Richie Owes His Success to The Commodores
Richie rose to fame as one of the founding members of The Commodores, and he looks back fondly on his time with the group.
“Thank God for The Commodores, because I never would have discovered Lionel Richie. Because I found something in my life that was never present until I joined the band,” he said on “Good Morning America.”
When asked what his favorite song with them is, Richie answered, “Brick House.” He added, “This was the only song where I thought my grandmother was actually going to disown me.”
“I tried to explain this to my grandmother, ‘This is a group song. I didn’t write all the lyrics.’ I thought it was kind of disgraceful, myself — until it became a hit,” Richie laughed.
