Which Ex Is Adele Singing About In "Send My Love"?

Move over Lana Del Rey, because the true queen of heartbreak is back. On Friday, Adele released 25, her first album in four years, and, in those four years, she's been in the studio crafting masterpieces. I don't think there's anyone out there who can listen to 25 and not acknowledge that a) Adele is back and b) she's still got it. Naturally, a fair few of the songs on the album are about her lovers past and present, and one song in particular, "Send My Love (To Your New Lover)," is the audio equivalent of Adele throwing a middle finger at whatever poor dude made the mistake of wronging a songwriter. But who is Adele's "Send My Love (To Your New Lover)" about? Now, isn't that the question?

Much like Justin Bieber's "Love Yourself," "Send My Love (To Your New Lover)" is surprisingly upbeat for a revenge song. It opens with the lyrics, "This was all you; none of it me. You put your hands all over my body and told me you told me you were ready for the big one, for the big jump. I'd be your last love, everlasting, you and me. That was what you told me." Then, it moves into saying that Adele doesn't feel so much dumped as she does feel free, with a note for her ex to send her love to his new lover and to treat that woman better than he treated her. Yikes. Who is the mystery man who earned so much of Adele's ire?

The popular rumor is that it is none other than 34-year-old photographer Alex Sturrock. In 2012, The Huffington Post (via U.K. magazine Heat) reported that "Someone Like You" might have been written about Sturrock, who was the official photographer for her 2008 U.S. tour and who allegedly dated her between 2008 and 2009. Sources vary on whether he inspired that one song, or the entire 21 album, but the story is still commonly accepted as the truth by many fans despite being unconfirmed by either Sturrock or Adele. However, it does bear mentioning that Sturrock's website was allegedly full of candid shots of Adele around 2012 — though that would easily be explained by being her tour photographer.

If it's not Sturrock, then there's a chance it might be a mystery man from even further back in Adele's past. After all, the singer has been dating Simon Konecki since 2011, which means there hasn't been anyone new in her life since 21 came out. Since it's highly unlikely that Adele would be writing this song about her current boyfriend, then the mystery of the ex who hurt her continues to thicken. Will we ever get the true answers that we seek? Probably not. Will we ever stop speculating? Definitely not.