SHEILA E.: WE WERE HEARTBROKEN AFTER “LOSING” NICOLE

Via NYDaily News: When the [Prince] tour ended, she and her family took up Lionel Richie’s offer to stay in an unused wing of his Bel Air mansion. The littlest member of the Escovedo tribe was her brother Peter’s 2-year-old daughter, Nicole. Her brother had broken up with the child’s mother, Escovedo’s assistant Karen, but everyone remained close.

Lionel’s wife, Brenda, insisted that the little girl stay with her whenever Karen was on tour with Escovedo. “As a single working mom, Karen was extremely grateful, but very torn,” Escovedo writes. “If Nikki stayed where she was, living rent-free, then Karen could earn enough for their future without disrupting her child’s life.”

Then Richie’s wife Brenda, who had been hungering for a child, suggested adopting Nicole. “Lionel … would do anything to keep Brenda happy,” Escovedo writes.

The Richies convinced Peter and Karen to give up their child. “The heartbreaking part is that once Nicole Escovedo legally became Nicole Richie, it felt like we lost her. We all lost her,” says Escovedo.

HERE’S WHERE THEY ARE TODAY…

It’s obvious, based on this post from Sheila E., that she couldn’t be more grateful to Lionel and his ex-wife, Brenda, for what they’ve done for her brother and her niece, Nicole.

We love the beautiful relationship Nicole has with her parents, Lionel and Brenda and we certainly respect Lionel’s and Sheila E.’s honesty. Ain’t nothing better than a happy ending. We all live and we learn.