All About Lionel Richie's Family Life: Everything to Know About His Girlfriend, Ex-Wives and 3 Kids

Lionel Richie has built a close-knit family while navigating his decades-long career in the spotlight.

The 77-year-old singer found love again after two divorces, maintaining a long-term relationship with his girlfriend, Lisa Parigi. He is also the father of three children, who have each pursued public-facing careers.

Here's everything to know about the people closest to Richie.

In 2014, Richie began dating Parigi, who is 40 years his junior, after they were introduced by mutual friends at a party.

"We had great conversations, we spoke all night long about everything," she told Harper's Bazaar Arabia. "It's been beautiful so far."

The "Endless Love" hitmaker previously shared he is a man who "has been through the ups and the downs, the ins and the outs of love."

"I'm a hopeless romantic," he told People before gushing over his partner. "She's extremely beautiful, but most importantly she's smart and helps me deal with my crazy world."

Richie, who has been married twice, also called Parigi "my heart" in his speech when he was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in November 2022.

Richie married his Tuskegee University college sweetheart, Brenda Harvey, in 1975. They remained married for nearly 18 years before divorcing in 1993.

Prior to the split, Harvey was arrested after confronting Diane Alexander — who was featured in Richie's music video for "Dancing on the Ceiling" — when she found Richie at Alexander's Beverly Hills apartment in 1988.

According to the "Say You, Say Me" hitmaker, the drama between his first and second wives was "the scandal of [his] century."

"What very few people knew was that Brenda and I were separated," he wrote in his memoir Truly. "I got a place at the beach, and I was hiding out there, trying to be alone, trying to decompress somehow, because it was killing everyone."

Richie then recalled, "Shortly after I arrive, there is a knock at the door. When the door opens, Brenda is standing there. There is a massive confrontation. Diane is in total shock and I'm trying to leave, to draw Brenda away. It's the most awful screaming match of my life, and it's all in this small entryway. The question is — How to stop it? How do you physically move a tragedy that is exploding in front of you?"

After they left the property, Harvey reportedly "went back and resumed the argument," leading to her arrest. She was booked on suspicion of corporal injury to a spouse, resisting arrest and battery at the time, according to The Los Angeles Times.

Richie married Alexander two years after his divorce from Harvey, though they also ended their marriage in 2004.

"I will forever give it up to both of my exes for being strong, loving, and devoted moms," he wrote in his memoir. "Nicole and Brenda were two peas in a pod from the start. "

The "Lady" crooner became a first-time dad when he and his first wife adopted Nicole Richie, who was born on September 21, 1981, when she was a toddler.

"She was a little girl who needed a shot," he told People in 2022. "She was used to people coming and going. She looked at me and I'd say, 'I'm not going anywhere.'"

Like Lionel, Nicole soon built a career in the entertainment industry after she and Paris Hilton starred in the reality series The Simple Life in 2003. She went on to work as an actress, making appearances in Kids in America, Chuck, My Teenage Daughter and American Dreams.

She has reached several major career milestones in the years thereafter — from debuting as a singer to becoming a fashion designer, writer and businesswoman.

Nicole shares two children, daughter Harlow and son Sparrow, with her husband, Good Charlotte lead vocalist Joel Madden.

Lionel and Diane welcomed their son, Miles Brockman Richie, on May 27, 1994.

In a 2018 interview with Entertainment Tonight Canada, Miles said he is a "mama's boy" as he grew up with his mom after his parents' 2003 divorce.

He made his runway debut at the Philipp Plein Show during New York Fashion Week in 2018.

"It is interesting in this modeling field and the fashion field, you have to push yourself," the Wilhelmina model told Essence in 2020. "My dad and my mom, they all just keep pushing me forward every single day and every day, I'm just determined to be better."

Lionel and Diane's youngest child, daughter Sofia Richie, was born on August 24, 1998.

"My dad had me in singing lessons from a really young age and I've played piano with my dad growing up, so I have that part of me," she told The Sydney Morning Herald's the Goss in 2018. "[My dad] is a really respected soul singer and I feel like that is a lot of responsibility."

After making her first red carpet appearance at the 25th Annual ASCAP Pop Music Awards, she decided to pursue a high-profile career of her own and began modeling. She signed with an agency when she was 15 and has since been featured in magazines, including Italian Marie Claire and Elle.

Sofia got engaged to music executive Elliot Grainge in April 2022. The tied the knot on April 22, 2023, and welcomed their first child on May 20, 2024, and second child on May 18.