Relationship drama isn’t new; people break up with each other and cheat all the time. The mess becomes a little different when celebrities become involved.
This year, we learned that Shawn Mendes is not a great partner. The 2024 MTV VMAs showcased a beautiful display of female rage through songs thanks to Sabrina Carpenter and Camila Cabello, whose performances made a statement.
What Happened?
On September 11th this year, all three parties of this musical love triangle attended the VMAs to perform new songs from their albums. This comes hot off the heels of the public grumble between Cabello and Carpenter following the release of the “Espresso” singer’s 6th studio album.
Both Carpenter and Cabello have had entanglements with Shawn Mendes. Both had also publicly written about their time in their relationships, much to Camila Cabello’s dismay.
After a rocky public relationship for all three individuals, the question at hand is what would happen at the VMAs. Although no intense drama happened each addressed the tension their own way within their performances.
What Led Up To This?
Shawn Mendes and Camila Cabello have a long history together, dating back to 2014 when they were both openers for Austin Mahone’s Live On Tour North American Tour.
Thankfully, Shawn hasn’t wiped his Instagram, so we have all of the proof of them hanging out over the years.
Camila made her first appearance on his social media in 2015. Shawn was opening for Taylor Swift on her 1989 Tour. Fifth Harmony made a surprise guest appearance on this tour in August, and we know the two had met before.
By November of 2015, the two released a controversial duet. “I Know What You Did Last Summer” was a big talking point as fans started to theorize that Shawn and Camila were together and coined the term Shawnmilla as a ship name for the two that adamantly denied they were together. This release also created a lot of tension for Fifth Harmony fans. Camila was the first person to make a solo debut outside of the band. Fans talked about Camila leaving when she started releasing side solo music, but she remained in the band for another full year.
“I Know What You Did Last Summer” is a romantic song. At the very least, the song talks about kissing but much more is implied. It was not hard for fans to make assumptions about the relationship between the two stars, yet they still refused to acknowledge it.
In 2017 as Camila made her solo debut, Shawn publicly congratulated her and wrote “so proud of you” in a dedicated Instagram post.
Shawn throws his fans for a loop; however, in 2018, he began publicly hanging out with Hailey Baldwin (now Bieber). They were first seen in late 2017 publicly and seemingly the relationship was over by May of 2018. This put a wrench in the fans’ idolization of Shawn and Camila potential relationship, but their pattern of behavior was beginning to reveal itself.
Sparks Start To Fly?
Shawn and Camila sparked even more curiosity about their “friendship” when they released “Señorita” in 2019.
The song was steamy, and the performances were elaborate. It was hard to doubt whether there was some chemistry happening here. Shortly after the release of the song, the couple confirms that they are, in fact, together.
Life together with the couple was good through all of 2019 and 2020. Unfortunately, the relationship like many succumbed to the Covid 19 lockdown.
In November of 2021, Camila confirms a breakup.
Trouble In Paradise?
Here is where things get spicy. The two clearly needed time apart. Neither seemingly moved on until Shawn and Sabrina Carpenter were seen together in February of 2023.
They were seen by insiders a handful of times in February and March of 2023, but their romance quickly faded from the public. That is until the famous festival Coachella which started in April of 2023 and continued into May.
All parties were in attendance at the festival. Sabrina Carpenter was performing, and on the festival grounds, things between Shawn and Camila started to heat up, even if they were no longer together.
The relationship status of the two remained muddy until Camila confirmed in an interview in June of 2023 that she was single. Nothing has come of the two since, for the best.
How Do We Know?
As all three participants are musicians, we have close to firsthand accounts of the events written into song lyrics.
Sabrina Carpenter released two songs off of her newest album Short n Sweet that fans speculate are about her messy time with Shawn.
“Taste”
“Taste,” the third single off her newest album, features lyrics that show no remorse. Carpenter clearly does not seem to care about her entanglement. The controversy of this song has more to do with the music video, and how Carpenter cast an actress (Jenna Ortega) that shares a quite similar appearance to Cabello.
The lyrics also refer to the back-and-forth nature of Shawn and Camila’s relationship.
” 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, and I bet you do/
Just know you’ll taste me too”
This song caused the most controversy and hype before the MTV VMAs because Carpenter performed it in front of the two suspects.
“Dumb and Poetic”
This song from Short n Sweet is an emotional ballad about a boy who cannot commit to a relationship (rumored to be Shawn).
It becomes clear that he was not good to her. The lyrics even mention the unnamed man running back to his ex. In this instance, life imitates art because the art is based on experience.
Lyrics like:
“Save all your breath for your floor meditation”
Refer back to how Shawn publicly shared taking up yoga and reconnecting with nature as his relationship with Camila was crumbling behind closed doors.
Camila, on the other hand, is extremely hurt. Songs from her most recent album C, XOXO showcase several aspects of her healing journey from irrational reasoning to pure sadness.
“June Gloom”
Camila has a lot to say about Shawn and Sabrina’s brief stunt in her song “June Gloom.” She runs in metaphorical circles as she asks rhetorical questions about why their relationship didn’t work.
“If she’s so amazing/
Why are you on this side of town?
If you like her so much/
What are you here tryna find out?”
This lyric could refer back to Sabrina or any woman, but it paints a clear picture of the touch-and-go remains of their relationship.
The songs from both Cabello and Carpenter come from a shared distasteful lens of their relationship with Mendes. The recurring themes of running away to a different girl and bad communication almost spell out Shawn’s name.
Even though the girls can agree that their time in these relationships was not great, there is still bad blood.
Camila doesn’t acknowledge Sabrina messing with her relationship (even though they were broken up at the time). Sabrina has taken the mess with pride.
There is still tension in the air. It will take time to clear. The emotions all come back to a shitty boy making a woman feel insane, the purest form of female rage.
