EXCLUSIVE: Singer Corinne Bailey Rae has shared the impact of losing her first husband, Jason Rae, when she was just 29 – and how she found light after the darkest days
Sadly, losing someone you love is something everyone must go through at some stage in life. But for singer Corinne Bailey Rae, the tragedy of losing her first husband, Jason Rae at just 31, when she was 29, felt like the end of everything she knew.
Yet as the warm, thoughtful star reveals exclusively to OK !, there is not only light after the deepest darkness – but the brightest of new beginnings. “At the time I lost Jason, it felt like the end of my life,” she admits, softly. “But of course, what I didn’t know then was, it was the beginning of a new part of my life.”
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Today, Corinne, 46, admits, she feels blessed. “There isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t feel so grateful for what I have. Grateful that I’m alive. Some people feel weird about ageing, but I love getting older. Ageing should be celebrated – it means you’re getting more life,” she says.
Raised in Leeds in a working-class household, Corinne’s music, she explains, has been shaped not only by her upbringing alongside her father Chris, from Saint Kitts and Nevis, and her English mum Linda, but by life’s extremes.
Music became her lifeline during her grief, allowing her to pour raw emotion into her album The Sea , released two years after her husband’s untimely passing, as close friends and family carried her through the darkest days.
“Grief can trap you in a loop,” she reflects. “You replay things over and over, trying to make it not happen. I was very lucky – my friends, my sisters, my parents, they let me talk and talk and talk.”
But today, Corinne tells us, life is full in ways she would once never have imagined. She found love again, for one – marrying her longtime friend, producer and jazz musician Steve Brown in 2013. And she is now a devoted mum to two daughters, aged five and seven, and her eyes light up as she talks about them.
Motherhood has sharpened her sense of what truly matters. “Their childhood is a window that won’t be there forever.” she says. “So, I really only do the things that feel important for me and for our family.”
That balance isn’t easy. Between touring, recording, interviews and now writing children’s books, Corinne’s life is busy, but she’s determined to stay present – and insists it’s no different from the juggle faced by parents across the land.
“It’s the same juggle all working parents have,” she smiles. “You want to earn a living, satisfy your creative self, and make sure your children feel safe, loved and included.”
Her latest project, a children’s book about music and emotion, which shares the title of her best-known hit, Put Your Records On , is set to be published in March. It was born from quiet bedtime rituals with her little ones, while on tour buses or in hotel rooms around the world.
“We don’t have a TV at home,” she explains. “So, books have always been these familiar touchpoints. Whether we’re in China or the Midwest, it’s two stories before bed.”
Recording the audiobook to accompany it recently left her unexpectedly emotional. “I was thinking about all these kids I’d be reading to – getting right into their ears,” she explains. “That really moved me.”
Being a mum has also changed how Corinne works, as she admits that gone are the days of spending 12 hours ruminating in a studio. “Now I work efficiently,” she says, laughing. “I think about songs while walking my kids to school, or breastfeeding at night. You find the little windows.”
Despite juggling it all, Corinne remains deeply reflective about the world her daughters are growing up in, and says she wants to give them a future full of hope.
Her critically acclaimed 2023 album Black Rainbows tackles race, identity and history, and she hopes the future allows her children – and young artists – to bring their whole selves. “People aren’t just one thing,” she says, thoughtfully. “There’s more space now for individuality – class, culture, gender, neurodiversity. I think that’s really positive.”
At home, music is ever-present, woven into family life. Bob Marley, Harry Belafonte and Simon & Garfunkel are a staple, she reveals, often the soundtrack to kitchen dance-offs and long car journeys – where everyone takes a turn in choosing a song. “Music holds us as a family,” she smiles.
Corinne also admits she’s encouraged by younger artists sharing their stories openly, with singer and recent Celebrity Traitors star Cat Burns a particular favourite. “When artists talk about things like neurodiversity or mental health, kids can look at them and think, ‘That’s me.’ It’s not always about ethnicity — it’s about connection,” she says.
Off stage, Corinne says she finds joy in the simple things and loves craft markets, handmade ceramics and objects made with intention – something which reminds her of her own modest upbringing.
“We didn’t have much money growing up, but mum always made our home beautiful. She painted, tiled, made things by hand. She once made a wedding hat out of a cereal box! It taught me you can always make beauty out of nothing,” she recalls, fondly.
It seems that things are coming full circle for Corinne this year, with not only her new kids’ book and a major US tour, but a special performance of her debut album, released 20 years ago, at the Royal Albert Hall on 27 October, with special guest, Laura Mvula.
As she prepares for a busy year ahead, she pauses reflectively, when we ask what she makes of her two-decade career – and what burning ambitions she has next.
“You know, when people ask me what my dreams are, I feel like I’ve realised them, I do,” she says. “I’ve got my family, I’ve got my work – and I’m alive.”
Corrine’s illustrated children’s book, Put Your Records On, releases in early March 2026.
