Sabrina Carpenter has left quite an impression—“5 feet to be exact,” on Shawn Mendes and Camila Cabello’s relationship. This past summer, this blonde icon truly established herself as a global phenomenon with her singles “Espresso ”, “Please Please Please,” and most recently her album Short n’ Sweet. However, this is certainly not the beginning of her career, nor her first love triangle––lest we forget about the 2020 Olivia Rodrigo, Joshua Bassett, and Sabrina Love Triangle.
People Magazine says this new tea dates back to November 2021, when “Shawnmila” (Shawn Mendes and Camila Cabello) broke up after their two years of collaboration and dating. The two delivered the news peacefully, saying their relationship stemmed from a strong friendship and will continue to be that way. Time went on and over a year later in February 2023, Sabrina and Shawn were dating. E! News shares they were first seen exiting the same building, at the same time, after Miley Cyrus’ album release party. Of course, they were trying to play it cool by letting one person exit first while the other lingers behind them, but Shawn, we see you.
Though, it doesn’t end there. According to Entertainment Tonight, an inside source said, “Shawn and Sabrina are seeing each other. They have been hanging out a lot and trying to keep things low-key. They were at a birthday party together a couple of weeks ago and were cute together.” After that, the former couple was spotted walking around L.A., and Sabrina was seen in a video wearing Shawn’s sweater that he had been photographed wearing previously. The Cosmopolitan also reported that during a carpet event while being interviewed, Sabrina was caught quite a few times looking over her shoulder at Shawn. Lastly, during a Vanity Fair party, Shawn was photographed wearing a necklace that had Sabrina’s birthstone on it, and it’s one that is similar to a necklace that Sabrina had worn before.
Despite the allegations and well-rounded proof, there was an interview with RTL News & Entertainment in March 2023 where Shawn denied the dating allegations––which is also what he did with Camila when they first started dating. However, that answer was seemingly the last of them, as we didn’t hear or see any sightings of them together ever again. Then one month later in April, we saw the reunion and a shared kiss between Shawn and Camila at Coachella. But this also didn’t last long, as Camila said on an episode of Call Her Daddy, “The second time around just didn’t feel right,” and the two called it off shortly after.
This brings me to talk about Summer 2024, with the epic drops of Sabrina’s Short n’ Sweet and Camila’s C, XOXO. Two songs from Sabrina’s album, “Taste” and “Coincidence ” are thought to reference this love triangle. The music video for “Taste” had people talking for three reasons: First, it was explicitly about a love triangle, secondly, Sabrina’s co-star was Jenna Ortega, who was likely used as a representation of Camila, and lastly, the man they were fighting over had a strong resemblance to Shawn. “June Gloom” off of Camila’s album was also rumoured to be about this situation. During this time Camila’s dramatic style change also added fuel to the fire, with her new hair and wardrobe bearing a striking resemblance to Sabrina. In the “June Gloom” music video, she gives an exciting performance, where she re-dyes her hair from blonde back to black. This performance likely signifies her new carefree era, letting all the drama with Shawn and Sabrina go.
This brings me to my last point, Shawn’s upcoming album; which, according to Just Jared, has been delayed 9 days before the initial release date. Fans were closely watching the release of Shawn, with everyone wondering what he had written about and if he wrote about Sabrina and/or Camila. But I guess we won’t know until November 15th, as he announced on X and on his Instagram story, that he needed “a little bit more time to bring some new inspiration and ideas to life.”
If Shawn had written anything about the love triangle it may have been scraped by now, and as juicy as it is, it seems everyone involved is moving on. Besides, Sabrina is now with her lovely Irishman Barry Keoghan––who is the star of Saltburn and in her recent music video for “Please Please Please,” and Camila was dressed in all black at the VMA’s saying “It’s like a funeral,” as if she’s letting go of everything that no longer serves her. However, if Shawn does add to any more drama, you know I’ll be analysing every bit of it!