Adele thought the "world had ended" when she discovered her ex-boyfriend was getting married.

The 23-year-old singer was inspired to write her hit track 'Someone Like You' after a friend broke the news to her when she was ill, and though she insists she was over her former lover, the shock was still painful.

She said: "I wrote 'Someone Like You' when I had a cold and was sitting on my bed waiting for my bath to run.

"I got a text from one of our mutual friends saying, 'He's found someone else and they're engaged.'

"I was over him, but I was like, 'Oh! Am I that easy to replace?' He never wanted to f***ing be with me. "He was like, 'Even if we're together forever, I'm never getting married.'

"I thought the world had ended and I was going to sit in my dark flat forever and my dog was going to eat me."

Adele finds writing about her relationship woes therapeutic but admits it can sometimes be "embarrassing" reliving her difficulties when performing the tracks.

She said: "I describe myself as a self-help singer. My writing is therapeutic. I get it out of my system.

"I get a bit sad now and then, and it's quite embarrassing singing songs about someone when we've both moved on.

"When I was in Birmingham, I sang 'Make You Feel My Love' and 'Someone Like You' and I burst into tears and couldn't finish."