In addition to co-writing one of the most popular charity singles ever, Lionel Richie has sold over 90 million records and served as an American Idol judge for many years. However, one of the most frequently asked questions about him has nothing to do with any of that. It concerns her age and the person he is with.
In a nutshell, Lionel Richie is single at the moment. He has been dating Swiss-born businesswoman Lisa Parigi for more than ten years. Lisa is about 37 years old, so there are about 40 years between them. It’s a gap that is frequently brought up, sometimes with sincere interest and other times with barely concealed criticism. Richie doesn’t seem to care too much.
He’s had two marriages. His first marriage was to his college sweetheart, Brenda Harvey. They remained together until 1993 after getting married in 1975. Nicole Richie, the daughter of a friend, was taken in by them when she was just two years old during that marriage, and she was formally adopted when she was nine. You’ll recognize that name. After almost twenty years, their divorce was difficult. However, Brenda has continued to be a part of his life, and as recently as late June 2026, she was the one who used social media to reassure fans following Richie’s illness during his Sing a Song All Night Long Tour with Earth, Wind & Fire. “Lionel is OK and will be back on the stage,” she said. Something about that is subtly telling.
Diane Alexander was his second wife. Two years after their son Miles was born, in December 1995, they got married. In 1998, their daughter Sofia followed. A noteworthy detail is that Lisa Parigi attended the bridal shower when Sofia Richie, who is now a well-known person in her own right, got married in 2023. It portrays a more amicable and straightforward family dynamic than the tabloid portrayal might imply.
When Lisa Parigi was living in Switzerland, she met Lionel through mutual friends at a dinner party in Los Angeles. She has her own skincare line, speaks four languages, and owns a lifestyle brand called The Estate Collection. She was employed in European technology prior to all of that. She is by no means just a famous man’s friend. Even though it isn’t always evident in the coverage, that distinction is important.
Maybe with a hint of regret, Richie has called himself a “hopeless romantic.” That self-description feels both honest and a little complicated given two divorces and a relationship lasting more than ten years that hasn’t resulted in a third marriage. His remarks about Lisa are fairly simple: she is intelligent, attractive, and aids him in navigating a sometimes truly chaotic world. At this point, it’s completely unclear if that description will eventually include a ring.
Lionel Richie is a 77-year-old man whose personal life continues to garner as much attention as his catalog. He is still performing, touring, and seemingly recovering from that health scare in Minnesota in June. The inquiry about his wife’s age turns out to be a window into something more intriguing: a life that has progressed through marriage, bereavement, reinvention, and a relationship that defies the simple narrative that people typically want for it.
