The 59-year-old rocker opens up about his romantic struggles and still keeping hope for a possible second marriage.
Despite a bumpy romantic past, Lenny Kravitz is still open to love. In an intimate interview with Esquire published on Wednesday, the 59-year-old singer opens up about everything from his first studio album in five years, his struggles with critics in the entertainment industry, and the infidelity "curse" his father, Sy Kravitz, put on him.
"In the spiritual world, it's called a word curse," Kravitz tells Esquire Digital Director Madison Vain about his father's declaration that he will cheat on women as the TV news producer cheated on Kravitz's mother, The Jeffersons actress Roxie Roker. "It goes back to anything in the Bible where God spoke everything before it was done. 'Let there be light.' The light just wasn't there! He spoke it into existence."
"I felt it when he said it, but the shock waves lasted decades and got stronger and stronger and stronger," the rocker adds.
Kravitz has been linked to many famous faces over the years. He and Lisa Bonet, who tied the knot in 1987 before divorcing in 1993, have earned the title of friendliest celebrity exes. The former couple shares a daughter, Zoë Kravitz, 34.
After Bonet, Kravitz briefly dated Kylie Minogue in 1991, although little is known about his relationship with her. The "American Woman" singer then dated singer and model Vanessa Paradis for five years, breaking up in 1997. He produced her 1992 self-titled album, and the couple recorded a duet together titled "Silver and Gold."
"I was madly in love with her. Vanessa was the perfect woman, but she came at the wrong time," he explained to Paris Match in 2009. "I have never seen her since. She did not come to my concerts; we did not have any more contact. I can only wish her happiness. But I am not worried. I know that one day we will run into each other. And it will be time to talk about all this."
After Paradis, Kravitz dated Brazilian supermodel Adriana Lima, popping the question to her in May 2002. But by 2003, the couple ended their engagement.
Kravitz then got engaged to Nicole Kidman not long after his previous engagement fell apart. The pair kept their relationship under wraps -- it wasn't until 2017 that fans knew they were almost married.
Kidman spilled the beans about their failed engagement in The EDIT of February that year while promoting Big Little Lies, in which she starred alongside Zoë. "Well, I knew Zoë because I was engaged to her father," the actress said of working with the younger Kravitz. "It's all in the family!"
The Australian-born star went on to praise the singer, sharing that were was no bad blood between them. "I love Lenny; he's a great guy," she said.
Kravitz was most recently linked to lingerie model Barbara Fiahlo in 2018. TMZ reported that the two were packing on the PDA that January, but they broke up sometime in the summer of that year.
"I won't lie to you," Kravitz tells Esquire of his trouble staying faithful in his romantic relationships, "being confident that this is the person for me, always thinking something else may be better... It was hardcore." The singer confesses that it took years for him to get to a point where it got "better."
"I put some people through some hard times," he admits.
But now that he is in a better place, Kravitz says he's still hopeful about getting married again. "The desire has always been there," he says. "The tools in which to do so have not always been there... I've grown enough. I've become stronger. I've become more disciplined. I've become more open to be able to do so. But it's been a very difficult thing for me to figure out."
And if life ever leads him to having more children, he's open to that as well. "I could not, and I could," he explains. "If it doesn't happen, I've done the best with Zoë that I could ever dream to do. If I was with somebody that wanted to have kids, absolutely. A hundred percent."
Until then, Kravitz is happy with his ever-expanding blended family.
As he and Bonet have stayed close after their split, the rocker is close to Bonet's other ex, actor Jason Momoa.
Momoa and Bonet began dating in 2005 and officially tied the knot in October 2017. The two share two children together -- daughter Lola, 14, and son Nakoa-Wolf, 13. And although Bonet and Momoa split in early 2022, after 16 years together, the family still has lots of love and respect for one another.
Kravtiz recalls a recent "crisis of parenthood" last year, in which both he and Bonet had to miss the New York premiere of Zoë's The Batman.
"'I got you,'" Kravitz remembers Momoa assuring them. "'I'm going to this one. I'll be there.'"
Momoa attended the March 2022 premiere with Zoë's half-siblings, gushing about his stepdaughter's work. "We're just so proud," the Aquaman star told ET of Zoë. "Lisa couldn't be here so we're representing, me and the babies. We're very excited to just be here. ...It's still family, you know?"
"It was beautiful," Kravitz shares.
Kravitz's Esquire interview will be available on newsstands Dec. 5.
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