Adele Is Dating Rapper Skepta: 'Things Have Been Heating Up,' Says Source

It's no rumor: there's a new man in Adele's life.

The pop star, 32, is dating rapper and fellow Brit Skepta, 38, a source close to Adele confirms to PEOPLE in this week's issue, on newsstands Friday.

In recent months "things have been heating up," the source says of the new couple. "They run in the same circles in London, and she's having fun."

Friends for years, Adele and Skepta (real name Joseph Junior Adenuga) have a deep connection over music, their shared home neighborhood of Tottenham, London, and being parents to young children, according to sources.

"Adele texts me all the time and keeps me in check," Skepta — who has a 2-year-old daughter, River, from a previous relationship — said in a 2016 interview with the Evening Standard. "She speaks to me about how things are going."

Since filing for divorce from husband Simon Konecki in September 2019 after seven years together, Adele has "been a lot more social and opened up quite a bit," the source close to Adele says.

She's also been taking new risks. Last weekend, she put her comedic chops on display while hosting Saturday Night Live for the first time. Joking about experiencing "a lot" of heartbreak in her life, she appeared on a Bachelor spoof and quipped she would next appear on the dating show Love Island.

In her opening monologue, she even addressed her much-buzzed-about slim-down for the first time, saying, "I know I look really, really different since you last saw me."

"Because of all the COVID restrictions and the travel bans, I had to travel light and could only bring half of me," she continued. "And this is the half I chose."

According to sources, Adele has remained committed to a diet and fitness regimen including Pilates, weight training and other targeted areas.

"She is still very motivated because she feels great," says an insider.

Much has changed in Adele's life as of late, but her commitment to her and Konecki's 8-year-old son, Angelo, remains the same. While splitting time between Los Angeles and London during the coronavirus pandemic, she has been helping her son stay on track with school.

"It's been Adele's focus to help him be successful with online schooling," the insider says. "They are on a good schedule."

Though her much-anticipated new album was placed on hold because of the pandemic, sources say her art is evolving along with her.

"There have been major challenges in her life and in the world," says a music-industry source. "She's working her way around all of that and will introduce it when she's ready. She's doing well and feeling terrific."