Sheila, born Annie Chancel, a figure in French song since the 1960s, shares her life with guitarist Éric Azhar. Their meeting dates back to 2019, during the preparation of a show, and their relationship has since intertwined romantic complicity and musical collaboration on stage.
The uniqueness of this couple lies in Éric Azhar’s dual role: partner of the singer and musician integrated into her touring band. This positioning deliberately blurs the boundary between private life and professional life, a choice that Sheila increasingly embraces.
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Éric Azhar, Sheila’s guitarist: when the professional bond precedes the couple
Most media outlets have presented Éric Azhar as Sheila’s “new partner” since 2019. This sentimental reading has long dominated articles. It overlooks a more fundamental fact: Azhar entered Sheila’s world through music, not through a social encounter.
A professional guitarist, he joined the artistic team responsible for preparing a show. The romantic relationship developed within this shared work context. This detail changes the dynamic: the couple formed around a common musical project, not the other way around.
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To better understand who Sheila shares her life with, one must look beyond the sentimental anecdote and consider this artistic dimension. On tour posters and social media related to the concert structure, Azhar is now identified as a stage musician, no longer just through the lens of romance.
Sheila and her private life: a claimed silence since 2025
In an exclusive interview with Gala in May 2025, Sheila marked a turning point in her personal communication. Her position is unequivocal: she will no longer share anything about her love life.
This statement contrasts sharply with the period from 2019 to 2021, when the singer spoke more freely about her relationship with Éric Azhar. The contrast is stark. Several factors may explain this retreat:
- The excessive media coverage of her love life after decades of career, while Sheila wishes to refocus attention on her music.
- A desire to protect a couple’s balance that works precisely because it remains out of the spotlight.
- The memory of past trials (the loss of her son Ludovic, separation from Ringo) which encourages her to preserve what she has rebuilt.
This choice of discretion leaves a deliberate doubt hanging. The media no longer knows for sure whether Sheila still considers herself “in a relationship” in the public sense, or if she simply refuses to talk about it. The absence of confirmation is not a denial, and Sheila seems determined to cultivate this gray area.
Stage duo Sheila and Éric Azhar: the shift from sentimental to artistic
Between 2019 and today, the public perception of the couple has significantly evolved. The initial articles highlighted the romantic dimension: the singer had “found love” after years of solitude. The media narrative stopped there.
More recent content, particularly those related to tours, tells a different story. Éric Azhar is highlighted in Sheila’s musical communication: posters, publications from tour structures, concert visuals. His role as stage guitarist takes precedence over that of partner.
This shift is not insignificant. It indicates that Sheila and her professional entourage have chosen to emphasize Azhar’s musical competence rather than feed sentimental curiosity. The result: a couple that exists primarily through what they produce on stage, not through what they show in the tabloids.
Sheila’s career after 60 years on stage: a reconstructed emotional context
To understand Éric Azhar’s place in Sheila’s life, one must recall the trials the singer has faced. The loss of her only son Ludovic, her separation from singer Ringo after years of marriage, and long periods of solitude publicly commented on have marked her journey.
The meeting with Azhar in 2019 falls within a phase of reconstruction. Sheila, still active on stage and in the studio, found in this guitarist a partner who understands the demands of an artist’s life. Their daily life revolves around rehearsals, tours, and creation.
This functioning also explains the choice of discretion. A couple that works together daily does not need to prove its existence through public appearances. The stage is enough. Each concert becomes a form of implicit declaration, without interviews or magazine coverage.
Sheila in a relationship: what recent sources allow us to affirm
By cross-referencing available information, a picture emerges with some certainties and several acknowledged gray areas. Éric Azhar entered Sheila’s life in 2019 as a guitarist, before becoming her partner. Their relationship combines musical work and shared life.
Since May 2025, Sheila has turned off the media tap on this subject. She no longer confirms, no longer details, no longer comments. Publications related to her concerts continue to show Azhar by her side on stage, which constitutes the only regular public indication of their closeness.
The singer has gone through enough personal trials exposed to the public eye to have earned the right to choose what she shows. Sheila’s silence about her love life is in itself an answer: she protects what works, and music remains the only area where the couple agrees to be visible.