Lionel Richie recently shared that his daughter Nicole showed him what love was really about.
Appearing on Today with Jenna & Friends to promote his memoir Truly, Richie spoke about what he’s learned from Nicole.
“If I’ve ever met anyone in my life, Nicole was the one who actually taught me how to fall in love,” Lione said. “Forget biological, I don’t know the difference.”
“This little girl captivated me to the point where I told her, ‘I’m never going anywhere ever again.’ And of course she had this smile and this laugh,” Richie added.
To describe their relationships, Richie said it was like a classic meal
“The two of us together are a great ham sandwich, Richie said.
Richie said that growing up in the spotlight was hard on Nicole.
“The hardest part about this is they’re growing up, and I’m taking off again,” Richie recalled. “Right when you think everything’s going to chill out, it goes to the next level and the next level. And now what’s happening is it’s becoming a problem.”
“You go to a recital with Nicole. Now there’s enough pressure on Nicole just to be able to sit up there and do a kid’s recital,” he explained. “The lady walks in and says, ‘We have Lionel Richie in the audience tonight!’ Oh, come on, guys, give the kid a break. It became very difficult to kind of be in that present state of mind as dad and the public would not let me.”
Richie previously spoke to PEOPLE about how Nicole changed his life.
“Nicole was actually a godsend. She was a little girl who needed a shot,” he said in 2022. “At the time, she was used to people coming and going. She looked at me and I’d say, ‘I’m not going anywhere.’”