Paloma Faith's bitter split with ex - tears and public digs to savage revenge
While many people might crumble when their relationship collapses, Paloma Faith has turned her heartache into chart hits.
The 42-year-old chart topping star has been smashing out soulful ballads and electrifying dance tunes since 2009. And despite living in the spotlight for more almost a decade and a half, the star has managed to maintain an element of mystery about her personal life - often shunning questions about her romantic life.
That hasn’t stopped fans being able to determine that she was of course in a relationship from 2012 until 2022 with French artist Leyman Lahcine - with whom she shares two children; a daughter born in December 2016 and a second daughter born in February 2021. While Paloma has refused to publicly declare if she and 36-year-old Leyman ever officially married, fans will be unable to realise the pair have split - as Paloma is quite literally singing like a canary about the break up.
From mysterious beginnings, to welcoming children, to those secret marriage rumours, and the inevitable split, Paloma and Leyman certainly had a headline grabbing romance even if they didn’t court the spotlight together. And the relationship is being re-explored anew thanks to Paloma’s explosive new song, How You Leave A Man.
Paloma Faith and Leyman Lahcine were first linked in 2012 (Getty)
Paloma is a proud mum-of-two (INSTAGRAM)First dates
Paloma and Leyman were first linked back in 2012 - with news reports first referring to the French artist as a ‘mystery man’. However, the French-man’s identity was ultimately exposed - and he told a magazine in 2015 that he moved to London to be with Paloma.
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The professional art painter explained he loved the UK capital because: “[It is where] I met the love of my life.” However, the couple have long remained tight lipped on exactly how they met and what their first dates were like.
Fans of the singer will of course be aware that her third album, A Perfect Contradiction, was released not long after they first got together - and include uplifting tracks including the hit Ready for the Good Life.
Welcoming children
Paloma and Leyman welcomed their first child in 2016 and a second followed in early 2021. The singer had discussed how she wanted to keep the gender of her children a secret - and explained why she wanted to raise her kids in a gender neutral fashion.
She told the Mirror not long after her first bundle of joy arrived: “I’m loving being a mum. I want two or three kids in all and they’ll be gender neutral… I just want them to be who they want to be.”
She also told You Magazine: “I won’t say whether I have a boy or a girl for privacy reasons. I want my child to go to normal schools and integrate with kids from different backgrounds as a human being, not as a child of a celebrity.”
Paloma and Leyman have refused to confirm if they ever officially married (2018 David M. Benett)Secret marriage
Rumours have long swirled that Paloma and Leyman secretly tied-the-knot - with reports they had become husband and wife emerging in 2017. The Sun reported the couple had indeed married - with a source claiming: “It’s something Paloma wants to keep private. It was a very intimate and beautiful ceremony in London, with just close friends and family.”
The source added: But some of her friends in the industry have recently been talking about Paloma quietly getting married.”
Paloma herself, however, has continued to keep fans in the dark over whether the reports were true or not. She told the Independent in October: “People think I’m married because they cannot believe that I’d have children with someone I’m not married to!”
While her forthcoming sixth studio album, titled The Glorification Of Sadness, has been described as “a divorce album without the divorce.”
Paloma is single again - and planning to remain so for a while (Getty)Devastating split
In October 2023, Paloma confirmed that her relationship with Leyman had come to an end - and that they had managed to keep their split a secret for 18 months. Paloma revealed in a surprising interview that it was becoming parents that had crippled their romance.
Paloma Faith's marriage 'mistake' and 'fanatical obsession' with ex
She explained to the Independent, while wiping away tears: “You either grow together, adapting to one another like expandable foam and filling the gaps where it’s empty – or one person grows and the other stays the same. And I think for me, becoming a mother was such a massively life-changing experience that for the first time in my life, I needed more than nothing – and the expandable foam just wasn’t there.”
In a searing moment of honesty, the singer added: “Our relationship ended because we have those children. And I think that was worth it.”
Tears in the studio
During an appearance on the Lorraine show in October, Paloma opened up about just how much the break up had impacted her. The star said she felt 'completely alone' in a very honest revelation as she spoke about adjusting to life as a single parent.
Paloma said when she headed back to the studio to record her new music things got too much and she was "literally on set crying" about her circumstances. The star added: "But you know at night when you've got the kids to bed and it's silent in the house and you're just sitting there. You feel ... it can be really, you can be really alone."
Sweet revenge
After opening up about her split, Paloma also revealed the very petty way she sought revenge. Taking to Instagram, Paloma shared a seven point 'break up survival guide' with fans that laid out her hilarious top tips for moving on.
Paloma admitted she paid for a billboard with her face on to be plastered on a wall on her ex's street in the hope he would walk past and regret their separation. She told fans: "If you can, put a billboard at the end of his road. I've actually done this, so I hope that he looked at me every day and was, like, s***."
Her other tips for getting over an ex included "Make sure you block them on all social media' and put on a 'full look' every day in case you bump into them. "I want you to be putting on a full look everyday. You need to empower yourself, dress up, put your make-up on, feel fly, always."
She continued: "Make sure you stay busy, stay active and be out and about with your friends.' She ended the video by saying: "Lastly number seven: don't start a rebound lover. I promise you it will backfire."
Break up anthem
The end of her romance with Leyman led Paloma to produce arguable one of her most autobiographical songs yet. Titled How You Leave A Man, the single puts her split to the forefront of her art - and Paloma has admitted she was anxious about putting the track out for literally all to hear.
She confided in the Evening Standard: “I am excited and nervous, because it is - as you can hear by the title - pretty personal. Especially with two children. [Making music] is always personal, it just so happens that this happens to be probably one of the most life-changing moments of my life. I guess I have no choice.”
She added: “It is weird, watching your kids dancing around to a song without grasping what it is about. I’m like.. ‘Oh my god.’ I am nervous, but I am also quite proud of it.”
Past marriage
Paloma was previously married to a chef from New Zealand named Rian Haynes - with the pair tying-the-knot in 2005 and finalising their divorce in 2009. The singer reflected on her failed marriage in 2013 and explained it hadn’t put her off looking for love.
She told Metro at the time: “It was just a young, frivolous thing. We were in our early twenties and we did something quickly and realised it was a mistake. But we’re still close. I am still friends with him. All my other relationships were the ones that screwed me up, not that one.”
Following her split from Leyman, Paloma has hinted she is taking a break from romance, saying in an interview: “I go from one to the next and I continued that pattern pretty much after my relationship broke up… I think there was a bit of panic initially, of not wanting to be lonely and so you don’t necessarily attach to a good match. You just fill a vacancy without looking at their CV.”
She added: “I’m at a place today at this moment, sitting in this chair with you where probably for the first time in my life, I am actually OK with being alone.”
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