Shawn Mendes has jumped to the defence of his ‘closest best friend’ Camila Cabello after she suffered backlash from fans during their relationship.
The singer, 26, who recently addressed speculation around his sexuality, said he gets frustrated at speculation they are ‘against each other in a weird way’.
Telling his fans he was trying to be ‘really brave’, the singer revealed he was still ‘figuring it out’ when it comes to his ‘beautifully complex’ sexuality.
He has since addressed his relationship with Camila, who he dated between 2019 and 2021, and said she is still the first person he would call in a crisis.
The Stitches hitmaker told the New York Times newspaper: ‘I have nerves just even speaking about it, just what people would say.
Shawn Mendes has jumped to the defence of his ‘closest best friend’ Camila Cabello after she suffered backlash from fans during their relationship
The singer, 26, who recently addressed speculation around his sexuality, said he gets frustrated at speculation they are ‘against each other in a weird way’
‘But honestly, if something was to happen in my family and if something was to happen to me, she’d probably be the first person I call, to this day.
‘Our relationship is teaching me what love means, in a big way.’
During their romance, the couple were accused of getting together as a ‘publicity stunt’, which Shawn later confirmed definitely wasn’t the case.
They came under fire from critics who said they ‘kiss like fish’ after they were pictured sharing a steamy snog in the sea.
Seeing the funny side of the situation, the couple later poked fun at the claims by sharing a clip of themselves sharing a very sloppy kiss.
Shawn and Camila were also pressed over their regular walks during Covid, particularly one where they were spotted walking very slowly.
Fans of the couple suggested they were walking slowly so that the paparazzi could get a good picture of them, which was later addressed by Shawn.
Speaking on Morning Mash Up, he said: ‘There’s this one video of Camila and I, and we’re like, walking down the street really slow. We almost look like zombies from The Walking Dead.
‘And everyone’s like, “What the heck is going on with them? Are they on drugs?” And I was like, it’s funny ’cause in that moment we were just, pretty overwhelmed by the world.
‘And we were like, “Oh, man. This is a really hard time. This is scary for everyone.” And you know, we were just like, “Let’s just walk slow and kind of just meditate and be chill.'”
Telling his fans he was trying to be ‘really brave’, the singer revealed he was still ‘figuring it out’ when it comes to his ‘beautifully complex’ sexuality
Shawn and Camila’s relationship was pulled into the spotlight following the release of Sabrina Carpenter’s Taste, which was said to be about their love triangle.
Camila was asked by Alex Cooper if she’s been the subject of anyone’s songs as she joined the Call Her Daddy podcast host on her Unwell Tour.
Fans speculated that Sabrina penned lyrics inspired by an unconfirmed love triangle between Camila, Shawn and Sabrina on her Short n’ Sweet album.
While playing Never Have I Ever in front of a live audience, Alex prompted Camila: ‘Never have I ever had a song written about me.’
The Havana hitmaker coolly answered: ‘You know what, I have been lucky to contribute in many ways to the great music of the 21st century.
‘Sometimes I have written them. Sometimes they have been written about me. You’re welcome, motherf*****s.’
It comes amid speculation that Sabrina Carpenter penned lyrics inspired by an unconfirmed love triangle between Cabello, 27, Carpenter, 25, and Shawn Mendes , 26, on her Short n’ Sweet album
Per the rumour mill, Sabrina and Shawn sparked a romance in February 2023, although neither confirmed the relationship.
Around the same time, Camila and the In My Blood crooner were spotted together, leading fans to surmise they had rekindled their relationship.
Those who keenly listened to Sabrina’s latest album have guessed that multiple songs on the project hint at the back-and-forth relationships — Taste, Coincidence, and Dumb & Poetic.
Sabrina sings on Taste, ‘I heard you’re back together and if that’s true / You’ll just have to taste me when he’s kissin’ you / If you want forever, I bet you do / Just know you’ll taste me too.’
The songstress cast Jenna Ortega — who is dark-haired like Camila is naturally — in the music video for the song.
Shawn and Camila were in a confirmed romance from 2019 to 2021, and briefly reunited in 2023.
While appearing on Jay Shetty’s On Purpose podcast recently, Shawn discussed maintaining a close bond with Camila despite their breakup.
‘I think Camila and I have just done the best job at preserving our private lives. [We have a] little fire of love for each other, 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 said.
He added: ‘And I feel like her and I have just like worked extremely hard to just protect each other, and protect that love.’
Then, in early October, Shawn took to the social media app X to respond to a fan who said that he and Camila ‘don’t play about each other,’ meaning they will always come to each other’s defense.
He agreed, ‘No we don’t,’ before following up with a second post that said, ‘and yeah part of me knows quoting a tweet and saying that is gunna start a little spin up and i guess to be honest part of me just wanted to address it and actually have a real honest relationship with you guys about how it feels from my side. I also would love to know how it feels for you.’
A fan engaged with him, saying that most of his followers are invested in his music and him ‘feeling happy again.’
Shawn wrote back, ‘I think you’re right. & that means so much to me. My human just gets caught up in the drama sometimes.’
