Pop star Shawn Mendes recently opened up about his past relationship (and breakup) with former Fifth Harmony singer Camila Cabello. The Pickering-born singer-songwriter, 26, began dating Cabello, 27, in July 2019 before they split in November 2021. The couple reconciled in 2023 but split up again later in the year. Mendes spoke about the “brutal” break-up with Jay Shetty on his podcast On Purpose with Jay Shetty on Monday, and unsurprisingly, it’s receiving a ton of traction.
Shetty asked what it was like for Mendes to have his romantic life so public, Mendes responded “brutal”, repeating Shetty’s description of the relationship being so public.
“Honestly, I think Camila and I have just done the best job at preserving our private little fire of love for each other,” Mendes said. “Because no matter how strong mentally you are when there are millions of people commenting on it, it’s so hard not to be affected by it and to be swayed by it and to be inspired by it, and to desire it because people desire it, or to hate it because people hate it, and it’s just human…”
He added that Cabello and he worked “extremely hard” to protect each other and their love. At this point, he said that he doesn’t really go on social media anymore.
“So I don’t really see or care what people say about my love life or my relationships because it’s just—it’s honestly too detrimental to the actual relationship itself that I’ve become pretty strict on that part of it. We’re not in a movie. This is not a movie…” Mendes said. “This is real life. This is real love and love is confusing and hard and goes through dips, goes through pauses, goes through breaks, goes through so much.”
When Shetty asked what Mendes did to protect his relationship Cabello, Mendes said “immense honesty” and “over-communication” were important for the former couple.
“You know, like, ‘I felt this way when I was doing this interview, and I said this thing, and I felt weird, and I’m sorry if it came off like that. You know, I love you, and…it just immediately cuts through any type of assumption that I could make or she could make from anything.”
They would text each other and communicate as to why they were feeling a certain way.
“I’ll be the first to text her. She’ll be the first to text me. And we just, as long as we’re good, we’re good. All the noise is just noise, and that’s been a huge part of it,” he added, noting that they “deeply respect each other”.
“I’m just lucky she’s an amazing human being and she’s incredibly understanding and thoughtful and caring. So, communicating with her is not difficult” he noted.
Social media reactions have been overwhelmingly supportive of Mendes, with X users thanking him for being so candid.
“Thank you so much for being comfortable enough to share this vulnerable part of yourself with us, I truly feel privileged to know the real you. The way you say things is really touching and I felt every word you said in my soul. I love you,” one X user noted, while another said “You’re really the most amazing human ever, hope you keep growing, learning, creating, and evolving.”
You’re really the most amazing human ever ,hope you keep growing, learning, creating, and evolving ???
— Mu_NobodyKnows?? (@Mu_InWonder) September 30, 2024
Shawn Mendes’ path forward will continue, as he recently announced a special concert at Massey Hall on Nov. 25 as part of his For Friends & Family Only concert series (where he’ll perform in more intimate venues). Mendes is expected to perform every song from his upcoming new album Shawn live during this one-night-only show (and as we previously reported, tickets are expected to sell out fast).
This more intimate tour structure comes after the Toronto artist cancelled his world tour in 2022, citing the need to focus on his mental health.
