Though he and wife Heidi Klum have split, Seal reveals that he still plans to wear his wedding ring as a symbol of their “eight wonderful years together” and has “no intentions of taking it off anytime soon.” The “Kiss From a Rose” singer adds that he was “shocked” at the breakdown of his marriage and that he still believes Klum to be “the most wonderful woman in the world.”
On the same day that he and Klum confirmed rumors that they had parted, Seal sat down for two interviews — one with Ellen DeGeneres, to air today, and a second with Tavis Smiley of PBS, to air Friday. In both, the British singer was extremely open in discussing his marital woes.
HEIDI KLUM AND SEAL CONFIRM SPLIT
SEAL HAS BEEN SEARCHING FOR NEW HOME FOR WEEKS
“I think we were shocked,” Seal revealed on “Ellen.” “You go into these things with the greatest intentions when you say ‘I do’ and when you say ’til death do us part.’ Those vows hold value — they are not just words. But these things happen. You just grow apart after a while. You try and work through it and the thing that you quickly realize when you are married, and you become a parent, is that you do the best that you can. It makes you actually appreciate your parents a lot more.”
Seal explains that there are no hard feelings. As he spoke, he sounded still in awe of supermodel Klum.
“The thing I’m most proud of about this great woman that I married is that she has given me four incredible gifts — four beautiful children,” he said. “She’s still, in my opinion, the most wonderful woman in the world. Our priority is to remain civil and do this thing with dignity. To say neither of us were grieving would be an out-and-out lie.”
DeGeneres pointed at his ring finger. “I notice you’re still wearing your ring,” she said.
“It’s a token of how I feel about this woman. We had eight wonderful years together. Just because we have decided to separate doesn’t necessarily mean you take off your ring and you’re no longer connected to that person,” he said. “We will be connected in many ways the rest of our lives … though our children and also through this tremendous admiration, respect and love that we have for each other. Will we wear the ring for the rest of our lives? Who knows? But right now it feels really comfortable on my hand so I have no intentions of taking it off anytime soon.”
Seal, who is promoting his new album “Soul 2,” also chatted with the talk show “Tavis Smiley.” In the interview, the singer revealed that because his album is a romantic one — it was recorded during a happier time in the couple’s relationship — it has been hard to focus on through the breakup.
“What one has to do in this situation is … understand that we are not the only people on this planet that go through this,” said Seal. “It is just unfortunately a chapter of life.”
Seal also said that he had the utmost confidence that the pair would be able to avoid a contentious divorce and mud-slinging in the press.
“We’re just not those kinds of people,” he said. “In terms of our love and respect for each other, it hasn’t changed at all.”
Meanwhile, Klum has stayed out of the spotlight since the couple announced their split yesterday.