Lionel Richie admitted that he didn’t give his son-in-law-to-be Elliot Grainge too hard of a time when he asked for his blessing to propose to his daughter Sofia, in a new interview with Access, published on Tuesday April 26. The music icon joked that the 28-year-old independent record label head was a “nervous wreck” when he asked Lionel, 72, for permission to marry his daughter, 23.
Even though Lionel jokingly wanted to give Elliot a hard time, he said that he couldn’t, given how nervous Elliot was. He did say that he was incredibly happy to see how great of a guy he was for Sofia. “Poor guy. I thought he was going to pass out, but he survived it. I was going to rib him a little bit, but I didn’t want to play. He was going to faint. It was wonderful. He’s deeply in love,” he said. “That’s all you really want as a dad.”
Other than him being nervous, the interviewer asked what he’s like when his kids bring over significant others, and he said that Elliot had a long history with him before dating Sofia, so they got along super well right off the bat. “Elliot had a head start, because I’ve known him since he was like 12, 13-years-old. So he kind of knows me, from years of being in the business and stuff. He knows who I am. So I can’t intimidate him,” he said, before explaining that his daughter’s fiancé goes to him with questions about the music industry.
Sofia is the youngest of Lionel’s three kids. She has an older sister Nicole, 40, and brother Miles, 27. Before she and Elliot got together, she was noted for having an off-and-on relationship with Scott Disick between 2017 and 2020. She announced that she and Elliot had gotten engaged in an Instagram post on April 20.
Before speaking about giving his blessing, Lionel showed that he’s incredibly happy for Sofia, and he totally approves of her future husband. “I love Elliot. I’ve known him since he was 12. How about that? So it’s one of those things where I don’t have to go back and check out the kid. I know who he is. They’re so happy. As a papa and as a dad, that’s my little girl. So she’s in good hands,” he said.
