Lionel Richie may say “Hello” to marriage again: “I am a hopeless romantic”

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ABC/Craig SjodinLionel Richie has been married and divorced twice, and both splits, from ex-wives Brenda and Diane, were painful.  But the American Idol judge says he’s not ruling out another trip down the aisle with his current girlfriend, Lisa Parigi.

In the new issue of People magazine, Lionel says, “I am a hopeless romantic. At this time in my life when you can be so jaded about things, Lisa kind of makes everything feel a bit safe. She’s extremely beautiful, but most importantly she’s smart and helps me deal with my crazy world.”

Part of Lionel’s crazy world is dealing with his three adult children: Nicole, Sofia and Miles.  He tells People, “With my kids I know their job is to completely scare me to death…My job is to embarrass them…so it’s an equal swap right now.”

As for how he approaches parenthood at this point, Lionel says, “I remember the look on my parents’ faces when I tried explaining to them that we’re The Commodores, and we’re the black Beatles, and we’re gonna take over the world.”

“It’s the same look I have on my face when Nicole, Miles and Sophia come to me with their ideas,” he adds. “I kind of use that as my centering point before I completely go off.”

Nicole is the mother of Lionel’s two grandchildren, Harlow and Sparrow, whom she shares with her husband, Good Charlotte rocker Joel Madden.

Lionel, who’ll turn 70 in June, will launch his Hello tour May 28.  A new album, Live from Las Vegas, is due August 23.

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