Looking for The One! Shawn Mendes‘ love life has made headlines over the years as he navigates dating in the public eye.
The “Stitches” singer largely didn’t address his personal life until he started dating Camila Cabello. Mendes and the former Fifth Harmony member originally went public in 2019 after five years of friendship.
At the time, Mendes gushed about how his connection with Cabello inspired his career. “My song comes on the radio or something and I’m like, ‘Everything’s about you. They’re all, they have always been about you,’” he revealed during his 2020 Netflix documentary, In Wonder. “She goes, ‘What do you mean?’ Like, ‘They’re all about you. Like every song I’ve ever wrote.’”
The “In My Blood” singer noted that his songs don’t properly “capture” the feelings he had for his then-girlfriend.
“I think it’s like when you see a moon or stars and you try and take a photo of it with your iPhone and then you just can’t,” he added. “It just doesn’t look good. And you’re like, ‘It’s not supposed to be captured.’ It’s just supposed to be for us.”
Cabello, for her part, offered a glimpse at how therapy enhanced her bond with Mendes.
“For better, for worse, we’re very transparent with each other. I think that’s why we can trust each other so much, because it’s a very 3D human relationship,” she told Glamour in her October 2021 cover story. “I’ll be venting or ranting about something, and he’ll be like, ‘Have you talked to X about it?’ And I’ll be like, ‘No. I’ve got to do a session.’ And he’ll do the same thing to me. I think even just the language of being like, ‘Hey, I’m sorry that I’ve been distant with you or snappy with you. I’m just struggling and I’m feeling kind of anxious.’ That level of transparency really helps a lot.”
One month later, the twosome shocked fans when they announced their split. “Hey guys, we’ve decided to end our romantic relationship but our love for one another as humans is stronger than ever,” they wrote in a joint Instagram statement in November 2021. “We started our relationship as best friends and will continue to be best friends. We so appreciate your support from the beginning and moving forward. Camila and Shawn.”
Before parting ways with the “Havana” performer, Mendes reflected on how being in love improved his outlook on life.
“A lot happens when you fall in love for the first time, because you really feel this support, this grounded, ‘Hey, if everything goes away, I’m going to be OK,’” he detailed to ELLE in November 2020. “It’s perspective, and it’s beautiful. And it really allows you to be like, ‘OK, well, if I’m going to do this [make music, etc.], I might as well be doing it for the right reasons and really, really, really enjoying it.’ Otherwise, I’d just rather watch movies with you all day.”
The musician, who has since been linked to Jocelyne Miranda and Sabrina Carpenter, has opted out of publicly addressing his dating history.
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