Seal opens up about split from Heidi Klum
(CBS) Some stars shy away from the spotlight after a split, but Seal is speaking candidly about his recent separation from Heidi Klum.
The singer, 48, who is making the media rounds to promote his album "Soul 2," opened up about their breakup during appearances on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" and PBS' "Tavis Smiley" talk show.
Pictures: Heidi Klum and Seal
Pictures: Celebrity splits
On "Ellen," he explained why he's still wearing his wedding ring.
"It's just pretty much a token of how I feel about this woman," he told host Ellen DeGeneres in the interview, airing Tuesday. "We have eight years, eight wonderful years together. Just because we have decided to separate doesn't necessarily mean that you take off your ring and you're no longer connected to that person. We will be connected in many ways 'til the rest of our lives."
"Will we wear the rings for the rest of our lives? Who knows?" he continued. "But right now it feels really comfortable on my hand, so I have no intention of taking it off anytime soon."
When DeGeneres mentioned that many were surprised by news of the couple's separation, Seal said the couple was just as "shocked" by the split as everyone else. But, he added, "you just grow apart after a while."
"She has given me four incredible gifts - four beautiful children. She still, in my opinion, is the most wonderful woman in the world," he added of Klum. "I think our priority was to remain civil and do this thing with dignity. We still very much love each other."
"It's a shame," he admitted. "To say that neither of us were grieving would be an out-and-out lie."
On "Tavis Smiley," Seal also addressed the split, saying, "We have a tremendous amount of love and respect for each other, and of course our children are our first priority."
"What one has to do in this situation is remain civil and to retain one's dignity and to be professional and to understand that we are not the only people on this planet that go through this," he added in the interview, which is set to air Friday. "It is just unfortunately a chapter of life."
Watch his "Tavis Smiley" appearance below:
