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Camila Cabello and Shawn Mendes set our hearts racing when they dropped the spicy summer track ‘Señorita’ back in 2019, and continued to capture our attention as the searingly sexy music video and promotional touring sparked a real-life romance. But what you might not know is that the two music artists have maintained a long-standing friendship, and their relationship (which may have reignited at Coachella) was a lot more complicated than it seemed.
Here, we take a look back at Camila Cabello and Shawn Mendes’ relationship ups and downs, from the beginnings of a friendship through to break ups and make ups.
July 2014
Cabello and Mendes first met on tour, when Cabello was part of the band Fifth Harmony. Reminiscing to V Magazine in 2019, Cabello said “I remember I wanted to hang out with you, but you were always on the tour bus, just learning guitar.” In response, Mendes recalled “Yeah, that was me. I didn’t talk to anybody. You were the only person that talked to me. Like, you were the only one of everybody on that tour who would say words to me. Actually, I think if we go into our DMs or something, there’s a photo from the day we met, I think.”
At the time, Mendes thought Cabello was “insane”. “I’d be looking through the window and I’d see you like, flying around on a scooter and jumping and doing cartwheels. I’d be like, she’s insane. Close the window and go to sleep.”
April 2015
Shawn Mendes was asked to play “Lips, Wife or Leave It” on Capital FM, choosing between Camila Cabello, Jade Thirlwall and Chloë Grace Moretz. He chose to marry Cabello, adding “She rocks.”
November 2015
Camila Cabello and Shawn Mendes released their first song together, ‘I Know What You Did Last Summer’.
The track was written during Taylor Swift’s 1989 tour – Mendes was a support act, and Cabello attended as a friend of Swift’s. “That was the first time we had ever really spent more than a few minutes talking to each other,” Cabello told Rolling Stone in 2015.
They also did some promotional rounds for the song, including an appearance on The Late Late Show with James Corden, who asked if they were dating. “No,” they answered in unison, with Mendes jokingly adding “Every time I make a move, she just swerves me off,” and Cabello countering, “He friend-zones me, he calls me kid!”
November 2016
A year later, People asked Mendes if they had ever dated. “We’re just really close friends,” Mendes said.”She is one of those people who is just very easy to connect with and still, to this day, is one of my greatest friends. You find that instant connection with people, and she’s one of them.”
December 2017
Again, Mendes had high praise for Cabello in an interview with The New Paper. “She has the best sense of humour and she’s probably – other than me – the most determined person I’ve ever met… The next guy that finds her should ‘wife’ her up,” he told the outlet, emphasising that they were “just really good friends but I love her. She’s one of my best friends.”
February 2019
Camila Cabello shared a post celebrating Shawn Mendes at the Grammy Awards, where she performed ‘Havana’ and he In My Blood’ with Miley Cyrus.
“So proud of this amazing human !!!!!!” she captioned the post.”Seems like yesterday we were just kids singing Ed Sheeran songs in the dressing room, now we’re kids trying not to throw up cause we’re at the Grammys!!!! I love you forever.”
June 2019
The pair then set us on fire with the release of ‘Señorita’, which is accompanied by this searing music video.
The song is about two lovers who can’t stay apart, and makes allusions to friends who have a deeper, romantic connection. “The whole music video was funny because we were both really nervous,” Cabello clarified on YouTube. “I had to drink a lot of wine!”
The same month, People confirmed that Cabello had split from partner Matthew Hussey, who she had been dating for a year.
July 2019
Just one month later, photos emerge of Camila Cabello and Shawn Mendes holding hands while out in West Hollywood. They were then spotted in San Francisco (where Mendes had tour dates) kissing in a cafe. “They looked very into each other. Shawn and Camila were splitting pancakes,” an eyewitness told Us Weekly.
They were also spotted on video kissing.
shawn and camila kissing 🥰 they look so happy and in love pic.twitter.com/naE647fW3S
— shawmila thoughts (@shawncamilaupd) July 27, 2019
August 2019
Camila Cabello soft-launched their relationship on Instagram for Shawn Mendes’ birthday, posting a photo captioned “Happy birthday to this magic human, I love you!!!!”
The couple then performed their hit song at the MTV Video Music Awards, setting tongues wagging due to the steamy nature of the performance.
Shawn Mendes and Camila Cabello sign off from their "Señorita" #VMAs performance pic.twitter.com/Ist9e8ElPx
— MTV NEWS (@MTVNEWS) August 27, 2019
September 2019
Camila Cabello graces the cover of Elle magazine, and opens up about her relationship with Shawn Mendes (sort of).
“Honestly, this past year and a half was the first time I really experienced falling in love with another person. I think there is so much more depth to love when you know you are in it with another person. You have so much more to say—I think that’s what makes me emotional,” she told the magazine, adding ““People can say whatever they want to say. They can speculate, but at the same time, we are going to live our own lives, enjoy it, and fall for each other like nobody is watching. I never want to open the door for people to feel like they are involved. I want it to be mine and [his]. That’s why I’m so tight-lipped about it: because I want to protect it.”
That same month the couple took to Instagram to share “how we really kiss” after fans commented on paparazzi photos, saying they “kissed like fish”. The video, clearly a joke, still seems to confirm their relationship.
October 2019
Both Mendes and Cabello spoke about their relationship in October – Mendes told a fan to fight for those you love, and implied that he had loved Cabello for longer than their public relationship. “If I told you the whole story of Camila, it would take a long time. I would say that you have to fight for someone you really love. And if you really, truly love them, then you’ll get them. It just takes time. But make sure you really love him or her, you know? You’ve just got to make sure.”
Meanwhile, Cabello went on UK radio show Capital Breakfast and confirmed the relationship “We’re pretty happy,” she said, adding, “I really, really love him a lot.”
Later in the month, Mendes told fans at a concert “We haven’t been dating for that long. We have been dating since July 4th officially.”
November 2019
Paparazzi had a field day at a Clippers game, where Camila Cabello and Shawn Mendes sat front row, making out for the world to see. Later in the month, ‘Senorita’ was nominated for a Grammy award, and Cabello spoke to Rolling Stone about the length of their relationship, saying it wasn’t always smooth, especially around the time of ‘I Know What You Did Last Summer’.
“We were both really young and he was experiencing the pressures of his career,” she told the magazine. “I don’t think we knew what to do with those feelings. It was this awkward thing where we both liked each other, but we weren’t together. It was just weird. An energy was there from the beginning, but after that song, we didn’t spend as much time together. Our paths just didn’t cross in that way romantically until we started hanging out again and writing. For me, it just brought it back.”
April 2020
During COVID-19 lockdown, Camila Cabello and Shawn Mendes took part in the One World: Together at Home broadcast special, performing ‘What A Wonderful World’.
camila and shawn singing together. that’s it. that’s the tweet #TogetherAtHome pic.twitter.com/9W93amR0pG
— sar’s backup (@bippitycabeIIo) April 19, 2020
The couple quarantined together in Miami, with Mendes saying it was a wonderful time for them as a couple. “Camila and I were so lucky because we were able to just kind of be in a still moment, and it was the first time in the past six years that we’ve been just able to relax and not work at all,” he said in an interview with Audacy Check In. “We were going on bike rides around Miami, and it just felt really beautiful.”
October 2020
Amid break up rumours, Cabello posted a clip from Shawn Mendes’ new single ‘Wonder’, captioning it “The world could use some magic, beauty, and Wonder always, but especially right now. @ShawnMendes what a gorgeous gift to the world. He’s crafted this album with every last bit of his soul, his spirit, and his essence with the purest of intentions. My love, I’m so proud of the person you are and I’m so excited for people to see and hear your heart.”
November 2020
Speaking to Apple Music’s Zane Lowe, Mendes referred to his relationship with Cabello as “falling in love for the first time”.
“It’s perspective, and it’s beautiful. And it really allows you to be like, ‘Okay, 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.”
Mendes also did an interview with Elton John for VMAN magazine, saying Cabello had made him reconnect more with family. “You know what it was more than anything? I don’t know if it was something that was a ‘me thing’ or a ‘men thing,’ but I think for seven years, I was on such a speedy path down one way with blinders on, and I wasn’t keeping in touch with my family and friends…but when I landed with Camila, immediately she had her family around more. [She’s] all about the family and friends, and it really made me like, ‘Oh, I should call my mom.’ I started reaching back out to my family and friends and all of these connections I felt were further away.…I felt a little bit alone out there and she changed that for me.”
Cabello also shared about their relationship on Instagram, offering insight into the realities of their love story. “I’ve learned a lot about love with this guy. It’s not just the happy blissful moments you see in pictures and videos – When you’re in a relationship with someone, it feels like they are this mirror reflecting yourself back to you. I constantly have to confront my fears, my anxieties, my insecurities, my patterns of thinking, my beliefs about life and about myself. It’s not as simple as it looks in pictures sometimes. sometimes, it’s messy and uncomfortable and ugly lol.”
March 2021
Shawn Mendes shared a post for Camila Cabello’s birthday, captioned “Happy birthday to the kindest, bravest and most beautiful person I’ve ever known. I love you more every day mi vida.”
September 2021
Camila Cabello and Shawn Mendes made a red carpet appearance for the premiere of her film, Cinderella. Later that month they made a red carpet appearance together for the Met Gala.
November 2021
However, the romance soon fizzled. Making a mutual statement on Instagram, the couple announced “Hey guys, we’ve decided to end our romantic relationship but our love for one another as humans is stronger than ever. 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.”
April 2023
Seemingly out of nowhere, Camila Cabello and Shawn Mendes seemed to be back on. The couple were filmed hanging out at Coachella, and according to TMZ, were also seen kissing.
#ShawnMendes and #CamilaCabello at #Coachella 😍🌴🎡 pic.twitter.com/8iaPMKkLhV
— 102.7 KIIS FM (@1027KIISFM) April 15, 2023
Are the music power couple back on? Only time will tell.
