Shawn Mendes And Camila Cabello: The Truth About Their Relationship
Shawn Mendes and Camila Cabello are two of the music industry's hottest young stars. Mendes earned legions of adoring fans with songs like "Stitches," "Treat You Better," and "In My Blood," while Cabello first found fame with the pop group Fifth Harmony before branching out on her own to burn up the charts with sizzling hits like "Havana."
And while the pair stirs up a fair share of headlines individually, that's nothing compared to the rampant speculation that has buzzed around these two for years due to their undeniable chemistry. And frankly, that fire is only fueled by the adoration and affection that they openly share for each other via social media and during interviews as well as the steamy (and suggestive) music they make together.
That's one of the reasons why no matter what they say — and sometimes because of what they say — fans continue to hope that something romantic will develop between the two ... and it looks like it finally may have. Here's the truth about Shawn Mendes and Camila Cabello's relationship.
Shawn Mendes' first impression of Camila Cabello wasn't fireworks
When Shawn Mendes and Camila Cabello first met 2014, he was just starting out in the industry and she was still a member of Fifth Harmony, which is how they both ended up performing as opening acts for Austin Mahone's Live On Tour. However, a romance wasn't immediately in the stars for the pair— in fact, Cabello dated Mahone that same year.
In 2019 Cabello talked about touring with Mendes during a conversation for V magazine, telling him, "I remember I wanted to hang out with you, but you were always on the tour bus, just learning guitar."
In turn, Mendes recalled, "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." He then revealed what he first thought about Cabello when they met, saying, "I also thought you were crazy. Insane. ... I thought you were out of your mind. I'd be in my bus where no one could see me. 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." Cabello's particularly quirky side certainly seems to have left a lasting impression on Mendes.
Did a silly game out Shawn Mendes' true feelings for Camila Cabello?
During the spring following their first meeting, Shawn Mendes made it clear that a friendship was blooming between himself and Camila Cabello. While doing an interview for Capital FM in March 2015, the "In My Blood" singer was presented with a relationship-based question which prompted him to reveal that he and Cabello had gotten much closer. When asked who he would "lip, wife," or "leave" if he had to choose between Camila Cabello, Jade Thirlwall from the British girl group Little Mix, and actress Chloë Grace Moretz, he quickly and easily made his picks.
While Mendes said that he would "lips Chloë" (oh my!), he decided to "leave Jade," though merely because he didn't know her at the time, and to be fair, he did offer an apology for having to do so (which is just so Canadian of him). But it was Cabello who he chose as his theoretical bride. However, it wasn't because he was suddenly willing to admit that he was in love with her. Instead, he explained his choice by saying, "Because I know Camila well, I'd probably wife Camila." We'll just have to wait to see if he was somehow predicting a future wedding.
Shawn Mendes and Camila Cabello are already professional partners
Not long after Shawn Mendes took Camila Cabello as his hypothetical bride, the fast friends found themselves making sweet music together. In November 2015, they released the duet "I Know What You Did Last Summer" which they wrote on a whim when they met up at a show during Taylor Swift's 1989 Tour.
Cabello told Rolling Stone that the time they spent collaborating gave their relationship the opportunity to take another significant step forward, saying, "That was the first time we had ever really spent more than a few minutes talking to each other." Mendes revealed a few more details, adding, "We were just backstage hanging out, I pulled out my guitar and we were just messing around, not really thinking about writing a song."
As nice as that sounds, Mendes also explained that writing the song happened to cause the duo to get into a "sh*tload of fights." Thankfully, their disagreements didn't stand in the way of their growing fondness for each other, which Cabello confirmed, saying, "I am very lucky that we wrote the song because I also got a really good friendship out of that."
Did Camila Cabello and Shawn Mendes protest too much?
While appearing on The Late Late Show with James Corden in November 2015, the famous friends faced questions that had come from inquisitive Twitter users. One unabashedly curious (which is a nice way of saying wonderfully nosy) fan asked if Camila Cabello and Shawn Mendes were dating. The duo answered, "Well, no." However, Corden wasn't willing to drop the matter that quickly, and certainly wasn't convinced. "Can I be honest? I don't believe you," the host admitted. "There's no way you haven't made out."
But Mendes shot that down as quickly as Cabello apparently shot down his advances. "Every time I try to make a move, she just, like, swerves me off," he claimed. Cabello countered, "He friendzones me. He calls me kid!" Despite their claims, Corden voiced what many fans were likely thinking when it came to the potential of the seemingly perfect pair hooking up by asking, "Why don't you? I mean, come on."
Both music stars then tried to brush off their comments by saying that they were joking, but Corden pointed out, "Your both being very defensive." Perhaps a little too defensive?
Mendes later told People of the appearance, "We don't take ourselves seriously ... so that wasn't awkward. We're also so close with each other that we could say anything, and it wouldn't make a difference. And that's a friendship that you have to hold on to forever."
Shawn Mendes called Camila Cabello one of his 'greatest friends'
Nearly a year after their infamous appearance on The Late Late Show with James Corden, Shawn Mendes and Camila Cabello were still dealing with speculation about a possible romantic situation in their not-too-distant past. As such, when Mendes was asked by People in October 2016 if he and Cabello "were ever [a thing]", he replied, with a laugh, "No, we weren't, actually."
"We're just really close friends," he continued before explaining why they're practically BFFs. "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."
He then praised Cabello for her songwriting skills, saying, "She's "a f*cking great writer," before admitting that he would eagerly collaborate with her again if ever given the chance. "Even if we just wrote for other people, I would be happy to do that because she's such a thrill to write with and work with."
Camila Cabello and Shawn Mendes enthusiastically support each other
Even when Camila Cabello and Shawn Mendes aren't collaborating, they're still each other's biggest fans and supporters. In May 2017, when Cabello released "Crying in the Club," Mendes shared the video on Twitter, writing, "speechless.. goosebumps all over. You're incredible." She replied, "I love u SO much and I miss u even more than I love u thank u for being such an amazing friend." She even added hearts and an emoji of a couple holding hands to emphasis her feelings about his message.
In return, two years later, in May 2019, Cabello showed her support for Mendes' song "If I Can't Have You" by tweeting, "CANADA IS BAAAACK!!!! my grandma and I are rocking out to this right now. love this and love you very very much."
Fans responded to the latter message with comments like one adoring follower's tweet that said, "WE STAN BEST FRIENDS FOR LIFEEE." However, another Twitter user was among the many who suggested, "babe the song is about u." If that's true, Mendes was certainly feeling a lot more than just friendship towards Cabello, who he had known for a few years at this point, when he sings, "Is it too late to tell you that / Everything means nothing if I can't have you?"
Shawn Mendes thinks Camila Cabello would make a great wife
A few years after saying he'd "wife" his friend, Shawn Mendes again brought up the fact that he thought Camila Cabello would make an ideal bride. In December 2017, Mendes still insisted he and Cabello were not in a romantic relationship, however, he also called her "girlfriend material" while chatting with The New Paper.
"She has the best sense of humor and she's probably — other than me — the most determined person I've ever met," he said while discussing what he finds to charming about Cabello. But then he added an opinion that seemed to suggest that he had thought about Cabello as more than just a friend, saying that "the next guy that finds her should wife her up."
And while that might have had fans planning for a potential wedding sometime in the future, Mendes apparently admitted that he didn't think their relationship would become anything more than what it was at the time, saying, "We're just really good friends but I love her. She's one of my best friends."
Camila Cabello is Shawn Mendes' 'favorite person in the whole world'
By April 2018, Shawn Mendes made it clear that he no longer considered Camila Cabello just one of his best friends. During an interview with Beats 1, he admitted that she was, in fact, his "favorite person in the whole world." While chatting with Zane Lowe, the singer explained, "I don't think you'll ever meet somebody who can feel emotion like her, in all aspects. She can feel hurt like no other, but she can feel love like no other."
He also revealed that Cabello's "love for what she believed in," which he described as "so powerful," was such an inspiration to him that he ended up writing an entire album based on one night in the studio they'd spent together while writing "I Know What You Did Last Summer."
Cabello shared Mendes' interview right after Beats 1 posted it on Twitter and added her own (obviously emotional) opinion about what had been said, writing, "I shouldn't be crying at this time in the morning but I AM ... I love you SO much @ShawnMendes."
Take a wild guess who gets to hear Shawn Mendes' new music first
"I treasure her opinion," Shawn Mendes said during an interview with 103.5 KTU in March 2018 while explaining why Camila Cabello is the first person he lets listen to his new music, even admitting that he send his songs to her before he sends them to his family.
Cabello also revealed earlier that same year while sitting down for a chat on the Zach Sang Show that she gives Mendes an early listen to her work, saying, "I actually sent him my album [Camila] before it came out ... Like two weeks before. ... He told me his favorite song is 'Inside Out.'" She admitted that his choice actually surprised her. "I thought he would choose 'All These Years' or some of the more singer-songwritery stuff," she explained. However, she added that she could actually "picture him doing his weird salsa dancing." That's definitely something we'd like to see!
Camila Cabello's nickname for Shawn Mendes had fans swooning
Camila Cabello kept up her ongoing public praise of Shawn Mendes in November 2018 when the "In My Blood" singer posted an image of himself on the cover of Rolling Stone to Instagram. With the magazine cover being a notable mark of success for anyone in the music industry, Cabello responded (via Seventeen) to Mendes' career-related milestone by leaving an incredibly enthusiastic comment (at least judging by the punctuation), writing, "cover of rolling stone !!!!!"
And while that was certainly charming enough, she also revealed her cute nickname for her cherished friend by adding, "Big deal Shawnito— proud of you and love you."
Fans and followers apparently adored Cabello's remark (and the sweet Spanish-inspired nickname) as much as she adores Mendes because they left hundreds of comments expressing sentiments like, "WE LOVE LEGENDS SUPPORTING LEGENDS" as well as "DATE ALREADY."
Of course, Shawn Mendes' nickname for Camila Cabello is adorable, too
The two were spotted together at the 61st Grammy Awards ceremony in 2019 where Camila Cabello took to the stage to knock out a live performance of "Havana" that included appearances by both Young Thug and Ricky Martin as well as J Balvin. Both Cabello and Shawn Mendes hopped onto Instagram to post pictures of themselves backstage at the event — one photo of them posing for the camera and one where they're embracing while looking into each other's faces.
Mendes captioned his post with a comment that revealed his nickname for Cabello by writing, "Every time I'm blown away with you and your performance and love for what you do. So proud of us Camilita !! X"
Cabello added a caption to her post that was equally adoring, saying, "So proud of this amazing human !!!!!! 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."
The timing of their steamy music video for Señorita raised some eyebrows
In June 2019, the duo released its sizzling and suggestive song "Señorita" which includes lines like, "You say that we're just friends, but friends don't know the way you taste ... cause you know it's been a long time coming, don't you let me fall."
While fans were swooning thanks to the sultry single and accompanying video, news came out just a few days after the release that Cabello had reportedly broken up with her boyfriend Matthew Hussey (a relationship coach), who she had been dating for over 18 months.
Although Cabello kept pretty quiet about the split with Hussey, she went ahead and posted about Mendes on Instagram. Along with sharing behind-the-scenes pictures of their "Señorita" video-shoot, she wrote, "You've been in my life for 5 years now and it's a hell of a ride growing up together. Thank you for always being there for me and having my back, and also for saying funny sh*t during takes so it was impossible not to laugh. Everybody on here that loves you would only love you more if they really knew you."
Camila Cabello and Shawn Mendes let the PDA fly
Shawn Mendes and Camila Cabello barely waited a month after her breakup with Matthew Hussey before showing serious signs that their own romance had finally blossomed. After being spotted holding hands in West Hollywood in early July 2019, the pair was seen getting cozy and kissing while out in San Francisco.
"They looked very much like a couple. You [could] see them making out at the table," an eyewitness told Us Weekly after seeing the pair enjoying breakfast together at Dottie's True Blue Cafe. "They looked very into each other. Shawn and Camila were splitting pancakes. Then after, they started kissing. He had his arm around her a lot of the meal, and they were chatting — not too much laughing, but they looked in love. They were there around 10:30 a.m. and not too many people noticed who they were." Their not-so-stealthy ways may not have attracted too much attention at first (other than the resulting media reports, of course), but that definitely wouldn't last.
Camila Cabello and Shawn Mendes haven't confirmed their romance, but...
At the end of July 2019, Camila Cabello and Shawn Mendes enjoyed what Just Jared called a "date night" together at a Blink-182 concert, an outing that included time with band member Mark Hoppus. They were reportedly in Florida while spending time together during Mendes' 2019 tour and the next day Just Jared shared photos of the pair showing off some "steamy PDA" while in Miami. During an afternoon at the beach where they apparently spent some time cooling off with friends, Cabello and Mendes were spotted heating things up while swimming together (above).
The revealing pictures came just days before Variety released an interview with Cabello in which she talked about the inspiration for her work, saying that instead of looking back to the past or an imaginary future, she's focusing on where she is now. And when it comes to her present situation, she didn't offer up a name for who's making her feel so heavenly these days, but did explain, "Falling in love is like an infinite amount of levels and layers and angles. I fell in love and just opened up."