Superstar Susan Boyle has revealed that she wants to adopt a child.
The 53-year-old Britain’s Got Talent star is waiting to hear what social services say but is hoping she can become a foster mum first.
Susan said she was unable to have her own children but she loves kids and adores her nieces and nephews and friends’ grandchildren.
She would like to use her wealth and love to give an under-privileged child a better chance in life.
She said: “I have so much love to give. I want to adopt a child who doesn’t have much, who I can really give something to. It’s a way of giving back for me.
“I have been considering it for a year. I love children, I always have but I couldn’t have them. I want to give a youngster what I didn’t have.
“We’ll have to see what social services say but it would make me so happy.
“I know I’m single and 50-odd. People don’t think I’m serious when I say it, they have a giggle at me. Let’s see.”
Susan has witnessed a relative foster kids in her hometown of Blackburn, West Lothian. She hopes she will get the chance to follow suit, though she hates the idea of not having the child forever.
She said: “Fostering would be great. It is so rewarding, you see these children’s lives change. But you have to give them back and that’s what I would hate. With adoption, you don’t have that wrench.”
Susan, who had therapy to learn how to cope with her Asperger’s, revealed her plans during the American leg of her first world tour, where she performed her first concert in the States.
She said: “It’s hard but having Asperger’s doesn’t mean I can’t get on with a normal life. However, it is tougher in the music industry, they don’t understand it.
“Any change in life, so quickly, is stressful because one minute you’re at home with your cat and the next you’re away with all of the camera people. Now I’m getting used to it, I have to get used to touring.”
Susan tearfully confessed to the struggle she has had but is clearly very proud of herself for the way she has coped after stopping her medication.
She said: “I didn’t want to take it anymore so I learned coping mechanisms, I went to speak to experts. I’m getting there slowly.
“Now it is pretty much under control. I have been recommended breathing exercises, I find them very helpful.
“It’s bloody difficult sometimes, and sometimes there is trouble. There is a stigma attached to it, people aren’t educated on mental health issues.”
As well as giving something back through adoption, the singer also hopes to use her experiences to teach drama to people with special needs and revealed her plans to step out of the limelight a little.
Susan said: “I will never fully give this up. I love the singing, it was my dream. But I will semi-retire and I want to train as a drama teacher to help those with special needs. I have a few projects for when I slow down on being a singer.
“I want to give back to the community, I want to get young people off the streets and into doing worthwhile things, nothing would make me happier.”
Susan releases her sixth album, Hope, next month.
