The legendary Patti LaBelle says she’s ready to date again. She opened up about the current status of her love life during an appearance on The Jennifer Hudson Show recently.
With this season of love in mind, Hudson asked LaBelle whether she was open to dating, and the two-time Grammy award-winning singer responded, “Well sorta, kinda. How old am I? 78.”
LaBelle was previously married to Armstead Edwards. Their marriage lasted over three decades and ended in 2003. Despite their union not working out, LaBelle had only good things to say about her ex.
“I was married for 32 years to a wonderful man and we’re still friends, good friends,” she said. “So I think in life I need to find happiness for myself, other than what I had back in the day with him, which was wonderful. But I’m too good to be solo.”
Hudson probed further, asking the cookbook author whether she is on dating apps—a popular way to find love these days.
“What’s that? What are dating apps?” The sweet potato pie guru asked. “Oh that stuff,” she said after Hudson explained. LaBelle shared a few more details about her dating life, stating that she “has a nice person in mind” to spend time with. However, she shut down any potential follow-up questions about who this lucky mystery individual is.
“That’s my personal business,” she said as the audience laughed and clapped in response.
Hearing the singer is open to dating is a pleasant surprise. In 2021, while promoting the 20th anniversary reissue of her very first cookbook, LaBelle said dating wasn’t something she was interested in.
“I’m just living my life like it’s platinum,” she said at the time. “Thank God I have a lot of people who care for me.”
The iconic singer has five children—Zuri Kye Edwards, Stayce Holte, William Holte, Dodd Stocker-Edwards, and Stanley Stocker-Edwards. Zuri is her only biological child, which she had in her marriage with Armstead.