Patti LaBelle Reveals She Deserves Happiness, Opens Up To Dating Again After Her Divorce

Feb 17, 2023 by apost team

R&B icon Patti LaBelle feels she deserves to find happiness and opens up about dating again after her divorce from ex-husband Armstead Edwards. 

LaBelle and Edwards, a former school teacher, were married in 1969, but they mutually decided to divorce after 32 years together despite a lack of conflict in their relationship.

In 2016, LaBelle disclosed to Oprah Winfrey in the "Oprah Master Class" that she and Edwards didn't fight and there was no hate towards each other. However, the breakup was inevitable because they could no longer live together, but the "On My Own" hitmaker said she remains good friends with her ex-husband even with their divorce.

LaBelle also talked to Winfrey in 2013 and took the blame for the breakup of her marriage. The soul singer said she was not an easy person to get along with because she's a "wild child," while Edwards was a "straightforward" person.

LaBelle then shared that she turned down Edwards' marriage proposal three times during their five years of dating. However, they got engaged after she proposed for a fourth time, and he said yes. Their union resulted in the birth of Zuri, their only biological child, but the Grammy-winning artist has four other adopted children: Stanley, Dodd, Stayce and William. 

After her marriage to Edwards, LaBelle's other serious relationship was with Eric Seats, a drummer 30 years younger than the "Lady Marmalade" singer. They had been dating for more than a year and a half before the press got wind of the relationship in 2016. The "Godmother of Soul" was coming out of a bad breakup when she was with Seats, and he helped her heal her broken heart. 

However, reports have it that LaBelle's eldest son was not happy to know that his mother was dating someone younger, per Daily Mail.  

"He saw how hard she took her last breakup with the much-younger man she was seeing and just doesn't want to see his mom hurt again," a source disclosed.

Despite her son's resistance to the relationship, the singer and her young beau continued to see each other. Seats even moved to Los Angeles from Philadelphia to be a lot closer to his lady love. 

LaBelle expressed in a New York Post exclusive in 2019 that she wants a husband and not a boyfriend. Then 75 years old, the prolific singer believed that she still had enough time to find a husband.  

But in a 2021 interview with People, LaBelle hinted that she was single yet again and living alone with her dog, Mr. Cuddles. She spent most of her time enjoying her grandchildren's visits. At that time, LaBelle felt that she did not need a man to complete her life.

Yet on her chat on "The Jennifer Hudson Show" on Feb. 9, 2023, LaBelle admitted that she's been "sorta, kinda" dating again after being single for some time. 

"I think in life I need to find happiness for myself," adding:

"I'm too good to be solo."

The singer also talked to Hudson about dating apps and confessed that she hasn't been on one before, although she has seen the commercials. LaBelle hinted that she has a "nice person in mind" to date but won't reveal the name because it's too personal. 

apost.com

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