Paloma Faith says life-long relationships aren’t ‘that easy or that natural’

The singer also gets 'honest’ about motherhood in her upcoming album Infinite Things

Paloma Faith talks difficulty of long-term relationships (Rex Features)

Paloma Faith has served up some wise words on long-term relationships, questioning whether they are natural or a “societal expectation”.

In an interview with London-based Overdue Magazine, the singer, songwriter and actress outlined the challenges when it comes to staying with one partner for your whole life. 

“Humanity has decided that we’re meant to be with the same partner for life and actually it isn’t that easy or that natural,” she said. “The question is, is it forced upon us by societal expectation or is it truly in our nature?

“To remain with the person you love is difficult; it can be very dividing and not all relationships survive the first few years after having a child. It’s about a conversation, in terms of artistry, and this album is something different for me.”

Faith has been in a relationship with her partner Leyman Lahcine for seven years. They have a three-year-old daughter together, and she is pregnant with their second child after six rounds of IVF.

Her fifth studio album Infinite Things – which she recorded during the spring lockdown earlier this year – is set for release this week, and contains frank, no-holds-barred thoughts on Faith’s relationships and experiences of parenting.

“There are songs where I talk about how unbearable it is to be with my partner but I will still stay with him and there are songs where I talk about my child and I say things that aren’t sentimental,” she said.

Even the album title was inspired by her thoughts on being a mother: “I wrote the lyrics: ‘All the joy and all the chaos I see in your eyes that life brings, those infinite things,’ because being a mother isn’t just idyllic and perfect, you sacrifice a lot.”

Paloma Faith (Dave Bennett)

One of Faith’s priorities when it came to producing her latest album was honesty, regardless of how listeners may receive what she has to say. 

“My USP is the fact that I am brutally honest; some people find it shocking and some people find it liberating.”

Infinite Things is due for release on November 13.