For an evening that mattered more than most on his calendar, Sebastian Coe didn’t arrive alone.
When the World Athletics Awards 2025 rolled into Monaco, the sport’s most powerful figures were watching — and so were the cameras.
Coe, 69, the Olympic legend turned World Athletics president, stepped onto the red carpet with a glamorous companion on his arm, instantly shifting the spotlight.
That companion was Diane Alexander, 58 — the American model, fashion designer and former wife of music icon Lionel Richie.
The pair posed comfortably for photographers, smiling easily, their chemistry hard to miss.
A Relationship Quietly Taking Shape
Behind the polished photos was a story already months in the making.
Friends say Coe and Alexander have been dating quietly for some time, having met through mutual contacts. Those close to the former middle-distance runner describe him as serious about the relationship — serious enough that some believe marriage could be on the cards once again.
Coe, who has been married twice before, appeared relaxed and confident as he wrapped an arm around Diane’s waist, the body language of a couple well past the awkward early stages.
From Olympic Gold to a New Chapter
Coe’s life has unfolded in distinct acts. First came athletic immortality — Olympic gold in the 1500 metres in Moscow in 1980 and again in Los Angeles in 1984.
Then politics, including 22 years in the House of Lords as a Conservative peer.
Now, as head of World Athletics, he occupies one of the most influential roles in global sport.
This appearance in Monaco marked not just a professional milestone, but a personal one too — a rare public debut for a relationship that had, until now, stayed largely out of sight.
Clearing Up the Summer Rumours
The Monaco appearance also seemed to put paid to speculation from earlier in the year.
In July, reports in the US suggested Coe had “quietly reunited” with Los Angeles-based PR executive Sarah Robarts, 58.
The pair had previously been engaged for nine months before splitting in 2023 and were seen together over the summer.
However, sources insist those reunion claims were wide of the mark.
Coe and Robarts, they say, are simply friends — and nothing more.
Coe’s Family Life Over the Years
Coe has four children from his first marriage to Nicky McIrvine, which ended in 2002.
He later married journalist Carole Annett in 2011, but the couple separated in early 2020.
Friends describe him now as content and grounded, approaching relationships with greater clarity than in his younger years.
Diane Alexander’s Life After Lionel Richie
Alexander’s name remains closely linked to Lionel Richie, whom she married in 1995.
Their nine-year marriage produced two children — son Miles, now 31, and daughter Sofia, 27 — both of whom have grown up firmly in the public eye.
Despite their split in 2004, Diane and Lionel are understood to maintain a warm, respectful relationship, co-parenting their children and spending time together with their grandchildren more than two decades after separating.
The Divorce That Made Headlines
Their divorce was anything but low-profile.
Court documents at the time painted a picture of extraordinary wealth and spending.
According to reports, the settlement was worth around $20 million.
Lionel Richie’s fortune — built through his solo career and his time with The Commodores — is estimated to exceed $200 million.
In legal filings, Diane described a lifestyle where monthly spending regularly topped $300,000.
Her declared expenses included five-figure clothing budgets, cosmetic treatments, personal training, and annual plastic surgery costs, alongside hefty education fees for their son’s Colorado boarding school.
Lionel Richie’s Hits and His Memoir Revelations
Richie’s music catalogue remains legendary: Hello, All Night Long, Say You, Say Me, Dancing on the Ceiling, and the timeless duet Endless Love with Diana Ross.
Yet in his recent memoir, Truly: An Inspirational Journey Through the Life of a Musical Legend, he pulled back the curtain on a darker chapter of his personal life.
He recounted a volatile confrontation in 1988 involving his first wife, Brenda Harvey, and Diane, whom he was seeing at the time.
The incident, which unfolded at Diane’s Beverly Hills apartment, ended with police involvement and Brenda’s arrest on suspicion of corporal injury to a spouse, resisting arrest and battery — charges that were later dropped.
A Moment That Changed Everything
Richie described the confrontation as chaotic and emotionally devastating.
He recalled being kicked during the altercation and trying desperately to de-escalate the situation.
Neighbours eventually called police, and the episode became tabloid fodder almost overnight.
Looking back, Richie wrote that the incident crystallised what he had already been wrestling with privately — that his marriage was beyond saving.
Two years later, he married Diane.
Nine years and two children after that, their relationship also came to an end.
Life Today, Away From the Spotlight
Today, Diane Alexander presents a very different image of herself online.
She describes herself as a mother first, a homebody, an introvert, a “plant mama,” and a lupus warrior — far removed from the excesses that once dominated headlines.
Now, stepping onto a Monaco red carpet alongside Sebastian Coe, she appears to be entering yet another chapter — one defined less by scandal and spectacle, and more by quiet confidence.
What Comes Next?
For Coe and Alexander, Monaco may have been just one evening — but it felt like a statement.
A relationship no longer hidden, a fresh start acknowledged under flashing lights.
Whether it leads to marriage or simply a shared path forward, one thing is clear: this pairing has already captured attention far beyond the athletics world.
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